You should pay attention to this during surgery of the knee joint

Partial knee replacement often makes more sense than a total knee replacement

When people suffer from severe knee problems, surgery is often performed. This usually includes a total knee replacement. But researchers now found that a so-called partial knee replacement could be more useful for many sufferers.

Researchers from the Nuffield Department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) of the internationally respected University of Oxford found in their recent research that a partial knee replacement is more useful to many sufferers with knee problems than a total knee replacement. The physicians published the results in the English-language journal "BMJ Open".

For serious problems with the knee joint, an operation is often performed, which leads to a complete knee replacement. However, many patients would benefit more from partial knee replacement. (Image: underdogstudios / fotolia.com)

Many people could benefit from partial knee replacement

A partial replacement of the knee joint is also more cost-effective, explain the researchers. However, most surgeons rarely perform the less invasive procedure. Partial knee replacement is particularly suitable for people who have osteoarthritis in only one side of the knee. As a rule, knee pain in this case only affects the inner side. Such a medical procedure can be performed with the aid of a small incision by means of minimally invasive surgery. However, this form of treatment is only suitable for people who have strong ligaments inside the knee, say the doctors.

So far, only about nine percent of knee prostheses are partial

The main reason for knee surgery is osteoarthritis. About half of the affected patients are estimated to be eligible for partial replacement, researchers said. An analysis of the National Joint Registry data revealed that out of a total of 98,147 knee prostheses deployed in 2016, only nine percent were partial.

Health authorities could save a lot of money

A key strength of the study was that it used the data of many people about their actual operations, GP visits, and their own reported impact on quality of life, study author explains. Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva from the Nuffield Department of Orthopedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences. Strong evidence has been found that partial knee replacement is more beneficial for both patients and the healthcare system.

Success through partial replacement was better

Whether the patients had a partial or complete replacement depended on the surgeon, as well as the success of the operation. If surgeons use partial replacement more often, they will get better results compared to more frequent replacement surgeons, the researchers say.

More partial replacement knee joints should be used

If surgeons try to use partial replacement knee joints in a quarter or more of their operations, this will significantly improve the results of knee replacement surgery and save a lot of money, says study author Prof David Murray. In addition, more people would receive a partial replacement joint and benefit from the procedure.

Use of partial knee replacement saves the population a lot of money

If surgeons use a partial knee replacement more often, the proportion of such replacement joints would increase above the current level of nine percent. This would increase the economic and health benefits for the population. (As)