Total Knee Replacement


A total knee replacement is a surgical operation designed to replace your damaged knee joint.  The knee is replaced by an artificial joint, which is a replica of your own.  The artificial joint consists of plastic and metal components, which are held in place by special bone cement.  The patella is lined with a plastic component.  The purpose of your new joint is to relieve stiffness and pain and hence improve your walking and ultimately the quality of your life.

The artificial joint has a limited life span, the length of which will depend on how careful you are in protecting the knee from stressful activities.  With sensible use, the chance your joint will last more than 10 years, is greater than 95%.  If the components do loosen, they can be replaced in what is called a revision operation.  This is more difficult surgery and isn’t usually as successful as the first total knee.