Apr 22, 2008 4:03 pm US/Eastern
Partial Knee Replacement Offers Faster Recovery
(WBZ)
Millions of aging baby boomers need knee replacement surgery and the recovery can take months. A new procedure may help patients get back on their feet, faster.
Baby boomer Nancy Strk ended up using a cane because of her worn down knee. "Because the pain is getting worse, so I'm just afraid that it's deteriorating more," said Nancy.
Doctor Geoffrey Westrich, from the
Hospital for Special Surgery, says in one part of Nancy's knee the cushioning cartilage is gone.
"On the inside, the medical part of the knee, she's completely bone to bone," explained Dr. Westrich.
In the past surgeons would fix the problem with a total knee replacement. During the procedure the top and bottom of the injured knee is shaved down and replaced with metal alloy and plastic. It's a major operation that can take up to three months to recover from. Now doctors are getting patients back on their feet faster with partial knee replacement.
Nancy is a candidate only because the inside of her knee is injured.
"She has no pain on the outside and that looks good and she has no pain under the knee cap and that looks good," said Dr. Westrich.
During the procedure only the damaged part of the knee is repaired. That means 75 percent less bone and cartilage has to be removed.
"There's less blood loss, there's less pain after surgery and people really functionally recover a lot better," explained Dr. Westrich.
Five weeks after her partial knee replacement Nancy was rid of her cane and could play with her grandkids, pain free.
"It's great, I feel like a new person," said Nancy. She says the knee feels natural – she can't even tell the replacement parts are there.
Research shows the partial knee replacement has a 98 percent success rate at ten years, and 95 percent at 15 years, equaling the results of the most successful total knee replacements. Experts say the number of people getting knee replacements has risen dramatically in recent years and is expected to skyrocket in the next seven years.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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