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Dramatic New Partial Knee Surgery In today's fast-paced world, few people have the luxury of taking off months from work. Yet for many individuals, the pain caused by arthritis of the knee leads to total knee replacement surgery and the months of rehabilitation and missed work that accompany it. Now, with the help of a minimally invasive surgical technique called unicompartmental knee replacement surgery, patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center are leaving the hospital within 24 hours and returning to pain-free activity in a week Richard Rosa, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Saint Barnabas, is one of only a handful of orthopedic surgeons nationwide who have significant This procedure is an appealing alternative to individuals in the early stages of arthritis," says Dr. Rosa. A Smaller Incision While physicians have been doing partial knee surgery since the 1970s, the incision that was used was as large as in total joint replacement, about 10 to 12 inches long. The new procedure uses a small 3-inch incision that allows the surgeon to avoid cutting through the thigh muscle. Instead of replacing the entire knee, only one of three compartments is involved. Since most arthritis patients have one compartment with the most severe cartilage loss, the orthopedic surgeon can replace just the diseased compartment with a durable metal and polyethylene (plastic) device. Smooth Recoveries Usually, an overnight hospital stay is required and most patients require little or no physical therapy as compared to three months of intensive therapy following total knee replacement surgery. In addition, patients report decreased joint pain, increased activity and enhanced quality of life after unicompartmental surgery. The device implanted in the knee for unicompartmental surgery generally lasts 10 or more years before replacement is needed, says Dr. Rosa. "For a patient in his or her 50s or 60s, I can give them 10 years of more normal knee function and less time spent in recovery," says Dr. Rosa. "For those age 70 and above, there is a good possibility that the unicompartmental surgery is the only procedure they will ever need because 90 percent of these partial knee replacements are still functioning well 10 years later." For more information about unicompartmental knee surgery, please call Dr. Rosa's office at (973) 379-3796 [ top ] |
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