Partial Knee Replacement and Knee Resurfacing

Orthopaedic and Spine Center is pleased to offer Partial Knee Replacement and Knee Resurfacing. If you are considering these procedures, you may wish to consult with an OSC Knee Replacement Specialist for further information and to determine if they may meet your medical needs.

Partial Knee Replacement surgery (also known as Partial Knee Arthroplasty or PKA) is used to treat advanced arthritis of the knee in either one or two compartments of the knee (but not in all three), accompanied by knee pain, stiffness and limited motion of the knee joint. PKA can be performed on either an Outpatient or an Inpatient basis. During PKA, only the portion of the knee which is damaged (usually by arthritis) is replaced, leaving the rest of the knee intact and in its natural state.

Knee Resurfacing Procedure

OSC also offers computer-assisted Knee Resurfacing, which is a customized PKA procedure. For Knee Resurfacing, a MRI or CT scan of the patient’s natural knee (before surgery) is made and a 3-D model of the patient’s knee is created. From this model, anatomically-correct, custom cutting blocks for the surgery are created and sent to the orthopaedic surgeon. Using these custom cutting blocks during surgery helps the surgeon remove less bone and more-precisely place the knee resurfacing implant.

Some advantages to Partial Knee Replacement are:

• 1. A smaller incision is used, resulting in less tissue damage, reduced bleeding and less scarring
• 2. The muscles, tendons and ligaments surrounding the knee are not detached nor are they cut. As a result, there is no pain associated with trauma to the musculature of the knee as is usually seen with Total Knee Replacement surgery
• 3. The patient is left with much more knee bone than after a traditional Total Knee Replacement. This is an important benefit should the patient ever require a revision surgery or if they have to have a Total Knee Replacement at some point in the future, due to the progression of their knee arthritis
• 4. Recovery from Partial Knee Replacement is much quicker than from Total Knee Replacement, with:
• a. Less Pain during Recovery
• b. Less time in Rehabilitation/Physical Therapy
• c. Greater Range of Motion more quickly

There are some criteria that should be met before you can be considered for Partial Knee Replacement, such as:

• 1. Your knee arthritis must limited to one or two compartments of the knee, such as the kneecap. If your knee arthritis affects your entire knee, PKA is not for you
• 2. You must also have intact ligaments surrounding your knee, i.e., the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)
• 3. Patients who qualify for this procedure should not be obese

To make an appointment for a consultation for Partial Knee Replacement or Knee Resurfacing, please call our Appointment Desk at 757-596-1900. Our Orthopaedic Specialists can help you decide if PKA is the right choice for you.