One out of two people will suffer pain during their lifetime as a result of wear and tear on their knee. When conservative treatment is no longer effective, the knee prosthesis is a very good option, since it improves function, eliminates pain and, in short, improves the quality of life of patients.
In Spain about 55,000 knee prostheses are placed annually. The first knee prosthesis was implanted in 1968 and, since then, many improvements in techniques have been introduced. Currently we can perform partial knee prostheses in which we replace only the part that is damaged, we can also use customized cutting guides. Before the operation, a scan or an MRI is performed and the first pieces of the prosthesis are designed specifically for each patient and give us directly the alignment that the prosthesis will have.
What is the postoperative period of a knee prosthesis like?
There have also been great advances in the management of pain immediately after the operation, thanks to peripheral nerve blocks and the use of epidural catheters.
The average length of hospital stay is 4 to 5 days. Patients leave the hospital walking and continue rehabilitation for 6 to 8 weeks.
Knee replacement is one of the surgeries with the highest success rate and produces great satisfaction for the patient and his surgeon. Nowadays the average survival of a prosthesis exceeds 15 years. Infection is a complication that occurs in less than 1% of prostheses.
Patients with a prosthesis should avoid impact sports, but they can walk as much as they want, swim, ride a bicycle, play golf, etc.
What is the success rate of knee prostheses?
There is a clear relationship between the result and the number of operations performed per year in the center and by each surgeon. The percentage of complications is lower the more operations are performed. Although there are no good or bad prostheses, only well or badly placed ones, in the Spanish private health system most of the insurers allow the specialist in traumatology to choose the prosthesis to be implanted.