Knee injuries are very painful, and if they’re not treated by orthopedic surgeons, the results can be quite detrimental. Here is everything you need to know about total knee replacement surgery.

Total Knee Replacement

Your knees can get damaged and injured easily. Whether it’s an accident that caused your knee to be injured or an underlying bone issue like arthritis or osteoporosis, it can be hard to function in your daily life with a compromised knee. You will find it hard to do important life activities like walking or even bending.

This is why you need to seriously think about getting it looked at by a doctor. Because they will guide you about the next possible steps you can take so that your injury can be alleviated. You can go down the route of non-surgical treatments, but if that doesn’t give you relief, then you might need to consider getting knee replacement surgery.

Here are some things you need to know about knee replacement surgery, how it’s done and what are the main precautions to take before and after the surgery.

Do You Jump Straight To Surgery?

No surgery is done without checking all of the things that lead to the injury first. The doctor’s main priority is getting the injury treated without any type of surgery first. If things are unable to be sorted through non-surgical, then surgery is the only option left. Your symptoms are checked first. Some symptoms which are very serious are:

• No pain relief even after taking painkillers.
• Deformation in the knee is visible.
• Numbness in the leg starts from the top of your knee and goes down to your feet.
• Inability to move, bend your knee, or walk properly.
• Swelling in the knee area.

After these injury symptoms are analyzed, you will need to go through an MRI scan or an x-ray to find out what is causing the pain, swelling, deformation, and numbness. If the case is serious and your knee joint is completely dislocated or damaged, then you will need surgery to fix it.

What Happens In The Total Knee Replacement Surgery?

This is the basic rundown of what happens in a total knee replacement surgery:

• Your bone is prepared and the damaged cartilage and muscles are removed so that the surgeon operating on you can get a better visual. This is done by cutting your knee open and this is a huge incision, which is why it’s classified as invasive surgery.
• The knee implants are positioned where the knee joint is damaged. If it is damaged completely, then you might need to get a prosthetic knee joint implanted.
• The implants are placed and a plate is also attached at the bottom of the prosthetic to give it the support it needs the kneecap is either put in place or it is replaced with a plastic button. This depends on the severity of the injury and the case.

Pre And Post Surgery Precautions

Here are some things you need to take care of before and after the surgery:

Before The Surgery

• You should stop taking blood thinning medications and any type of routine medication which might alter the effects of the surgery.
• You should stop smoking as it can adversely affect you during the anesthesia procedure.
• You will need to have some routine tests done, like a blood examination and heart health examination so that you can be cleared for surgery.

After The Surgery

• You should take care of the incision and make sure it does not get wet or infected.
• You will need some painkillers because you will feel pain after the surgery.
• You will need to rest and let your knee recover.
• You can resume life activities after a post-surgical x-ray which shows the progress, which takes place after a couple of weeks.

Conclusion

There you have it! A total knee replacement surgery is a highly invasive surgery, but it can be life-altering if you have a severely injured knee. As this is a big surgery, you should consult an orthopedic doctor for knee pain Woodbridge to let him/her study your case and decide if total knee replacement is for you. Once they decide, you can go ahead with it.