In getting both left and right knee replacements, is there a difference in the replacement parts, left vs right? In other words, can 100% identical replacement parts be used for both left and right knees?
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.Partial knee replacement or unicompartmental arthroplasty(UKA) is ideal for patients with minimal arthritis involving a part of the joint. But total knee replacement is a proceedure that is ideal for severe arthritis.
While most recent data suggests that UKA in properly selected patients has survival rates comparable to TKA, most surgeons believe that TKA is the more reliable long term procedure.
With Custom Fit Knee or otis knee replacement, the surgeon matches the size and placement of the implant to each particular patient. Instrumentation and implants are pre-planned, based on the patient’s normal (non-diseased) knee anatomy. This means that the surgery can be done accurately and quickly, with less intra-operative decision making required from the surgeon.
While all surgical procedures involve risk, Custom Fit Knee replacement was designed to minimize the risks often seen with traditional and computer-assisted techniques. With the custom fit approach, patients spend less time under anesthesia, have no additive risk of cardio-pulmonary complications .
There is a great increase in their flexion and range of motion and less amount of pain after surgery. This means they are able to return to daily living activities more quickly.
All the best.