A partial knee replacement is an alternative to a total knee replacement for some people with osteoarthritis of the knee. This surgery can be done when the damage is confined to a particular compartment of the knee. In partial knee replacement, only the damaged part of the knee cartilage is replaced with a prosthesis. It is replacement reserved for the older patients who were involvement in few activities. Now partial knee replacement is often done in younger people as their recovery is quicker and usually less painful.

What is osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of the arthritis, and the knee is one of the most affected joints. Everyone’s joints go through a normal cycle of damage and repair during their lifetime, but sometimes the body’s process to repair our joints can cause changes in their shape or structure. When these changes happen in one or more of your joints, it’s called as osteoarthritis.

In your knee, it’s the thigh and shin bones which meets to make a joint. There is also a small bone at the front of the knee called patella or knee cap. Osteoarthritis causes the cartilage in your knee joint to get thin and the surfaces of the joint to become rougher which means that the knee does not move smoothly as before, and the movement may feel stiff and painful. Osteoarthritis can affect anyone at any age, but it is more common in women than men over 50 years of age.

Injuries or other joint complaints like gout may cause to osteoarthritis. If there is a family history of osteoarthritis, then it can be also a cause or if the person is overweight then there are chances of osteoarthritis. The pain can be felt all around the knees. Sometimes swelling is also present and cannot move knees in all directions. It is worse after moving your knee in a particular way, such as going up or down stairs.

People with medial, or lateral, knee osteoarthritis can be considered for partial knee replacement. “Medial” refers to the inside compartment of the joint, which is the compartment nearest to the opposite knee, while “Lateral” refers to the outside compartment farthest from the opposite knee. Medial knee joint degeneration is the most common deformity of arthritis.

Compared to total knee replacement, partial knee replacement better preserves range of motion and knee function because it preserves healthy tissue and bone in the knee. That’s why, patients tend to be more satisfied with partial knee replacement compared to total knee replacement. Partial knee replacement surgery is done in Mumbai by the best orthopedic Doctors in Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.

During knee replacement surgery, bone and cartilage which are damaged by osteoarthritis are resurfaced with metal and plastic components. In unicondylar knee replacement also called as partial knee replacement where only a portion of the knee is resurfaced. In this process a smaller incision is done by the orthopedic doctors in a little time in the hospital and the patient can be return to normal activities sooner than total knee replacement patients. Unicondylar knee replacement specialist is found in Mumbai in the Breach Candy Hospital. Pre-operative procedures like X-Ray and MRI are done, blood count, ECG and blood crossing for possible transformation is done. Partial knee replacement patients usually experience less post operative pain, less swelling and have easier rehabilitation than patients undergoing total knee replacement.