If you’re living with wear and tear-based knee pain, a knee replacement could be the answer. But what is a knee replacement, and should Wakefield patients be worried about that word ‘replacement’?

Not all arthritis that affects the knee is wear and tear-based. Sometimes it can be caused by an inflammatory joint disease, and we call this condition rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the description for knee pain caused by the gradual wearing away of the surfaces of the bones in the knee. As the cartilage disappears, the bone grinds on bone – and if you’re a sufferer of arthritis, you’ll know how painful that can be.

Yorkshire Knee Clinic’s knee doctors can remove the pain of osteoarthritis by performing what is commonly known as a knee replacement.

> Discover more about knee osteoarthritis
> Discover more about knee resurfacing / replacements

Is a knee replacement really a knee replacement?

It may sound a curious question, but it’s something that concerns many of our knee replacement patients in Wakefield, who worry that the operation involves ‘chopping’ the leg above and below the knee, having the old knee removed and swapping a new one in. In reality, that’s not what happens at all, because what most people call a knee replacement is really ‘knee resurfacing’.

During a knee resurfacing operation, our Wakefield knee specialists remove only the worn-out surfaces of the bone above and below the knee. They then create a new surface using thin metal implants. Between the surfaces, a polyethylene spacer acts as a hard-wearing artificial cartilage, preventing the bones from rubbing together.

> Discover more about knee resurfacing / replacements

Which knee replacement in Wakefield?

Where every surface of the knee has worn away, you’ll need a total knee ‘replacement’. Yet many knees don’t require total resurfacing because only one side of the knee (usually the inner side) may have worn away. In such circumstances, our knee surgeons for Wakefield will recommend a partial knee ‘replacement’.

A partial knee replacement for or Wakefield patients has several advantages over its total counterpart:

• You are likely to recover quicker (as the surgery is less invasive)
• Risks associated with surgery are reduced
• Recovery tends to be more complete as all the knee ligaments are preserved

To find out whether total or partial knee resurfacing is appropriate for your knee pain, contact the knee surgeons for Wakefield today or phone us on 03453 052 579.