Total Knee Replacement Surgery

Your doctor may have told you that you are a candidate for total knee replacement surgery. This surgery removes the damaged and painful areas of the thigh- and shinbones. These areas are then replaced with specially designed metal and plastic parts. 

Standard surgical incision for knee replacement

The standard surgical incision is between eight to 12 inches. The incision is made through the quadriceps tendons and muscles to position the replacement parts. Patients generally have two to three months recovery time. Much of the post-operative pain a patient feels is a result of the cutting of the tissues. While tissues are healing, scar tissue forms, which may cause pain and stiffness.

New minimally invasive total knee replacement procedure

This new technique at Rush has revolutionized total knee replacement surgery (sometimes referred to as total knee arthroplasty or TKA). The short incision total knee replacement is a surgical modification using a smaller incision that requires less muscle dissection, which generally results in more rapid and less painful recovery with better early range of motion and improved function.

The procedure involves the use of modified techniques and instruments to place the same clinically proven implants used in standard surgery, but through a much smaller incision. The minimally invasive replacement surgery is performed through one small three- to four-inch incision instead of the larger eight- to 12-inch incision of the standard surgical technique. This approach has the potential for dramatically reducing pain by sparing muscles and tendons that historically have been cut during standard total knee replacement surgery.

Potential benefits of this minimally invasive technique include increased range of motion sooner after surgery, less blood loss during surgery, faster recovery and a shorter hospital stay. In fact, many patients leave the hospital the same day.

Physicians at Rush were among the pioneers of this procedure and were the first to perform the innovative minimally invasive total knee procedure as an outpatient surgery. 

You may be a candidate for a minimally invasive total knee replacement procedure if:

• Your primary care doctor or an orthopedic surgeon has told you that you need a knee replacement
• Your knee structure is stable and you don’t suffer from severe bone loss around the knee
• You have not had prior open knee surgery on the same knee
• Your weight is proportionate to your height

For more information on this procedure at Rush click here.

For an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon specializing in joint replacement surgery, call (888) 352-RUSH.