What are the post surgical effects of knee replacement?

jyoti_kumariNovember 10, 2021

366 5 minutes read

Knee replacement complications can be a part of a faulty or surgical implant. Loosening is one of the most serious conditions that generally takes place after knee replacement. It creates instability and serious falls. Germanten Hospital makes you lead a normal lifestyle at affordable prices. It is a 200 bedded multi-specialty hospital that is equipped with his-standardized sub-specialties of orthopedic & other specialties including, pediatric, gynecology, pulmonology, and critical care. The hospital offers world-class treatment and infrastructure so that none of the patients get deprived of immediate medical responses at the time of emergency. Germanten Hospital has got the most prestigious and high ended medical facilities for all of its patients. It has maintained quality standards and offers a global range of facilities.

In all the cases of knee surgery, there can be maximum chances of revision surgery if any complication takes place. Such post-surgical effects generally take place immediately after the surgery. These complications include swelling, stiffness, and pain. If the complications persist beyond a month, they can further cause serious issues or further complications with the surgery. Moreover, the complications can result from the surgery, and patients may develop physical complications related to devices such as implant rejection.

Other complications can include loosening and mechanical ones that may result due to defects with the implant. Most serious complications require the redone or correction of the surgery. Such complications may result due to surgery and physical complications of implant rejection.

What is knee replacement surgery?

Knee surgery is also known as knee arthroplasty that further helps a patient to relieve pain, and restore the normal functioning of the knee joints and correct the related disease. The procedure of knee replacement further includes cutting away the damaged bone and cartilage from the kneecap, thigh bone, or shinbone and replacing it with the help of artificial bone made of metal or high-grade plastic or polymer.

Before getting the knee surgery, your doctor may recommend some tests to identify whether a knee replacement is the right decision to carry with. This may further include testing your range of motion, stability, and strength, and an X-ray of the knee cap that further helps the doctor to determine the extent of the damage.

Your doctor may choose different types of knee replacement techniques and prostheses that fit according to your age, weight, height, activity level, knee size, and overall health. A patient’s recovery and rehabilitation is the most important factor to consider after knee replacement or surgery. Recovery and rehabilitation may further help the patient to:

Leave the hospital sooner
Quick recovery and motion of the knee after surgery
Independent living
Avoiding potential complications

When a knee replacement is needed

Knee replacement is generally needed when the knee joint is damaged, reducing mobility and increasing pain while resting, walking, or doing any other activity. The most common reason for knee replacement surgery is osteoarthritis. Other conditions that may further result in knee damage include:

Knee injury
Gout
Disorders that lead to bone growth (or unusual bone growth)
Death of knee cells in the knee joint leading to problems in blood supply
Knee deformity and loss of cartilage
rheumatoid arthritis

Types of knee replacement surgery

There are mainly two types of knee surgeries and these are:

Total knee replacement: In this case, both sides of knee joints are replaced
Partial knee replacement: In this case, only one side of the knee joint is replaced with a small operation and a small stay in the hospital

Post-surgical effects due to knee replacement

Mechanical Complications

There can be 0.5 to 1.0 percent chances of a patient’s knee implant with a failure. Furthermore, a knee replacement lasts for almost 10 years and there are 80-85 percent chances of the survival of knee replacement for at least 20 years. There take place extremely rare mechanical complications or post-surgical effects that further lead to instability, dislocation, and device failure. Such problems may further lead to manufacturing defects, poorly fitted bone, problems during surgery, etc.

Loosening

It is the most common side effect or complication of knee replacement. Patients may be required to revise the surgery in this case. There are several other causes of loosening. Infections are the most likely condition to happen. Other factors that lead to such problems are the faulty design of the bone, wear or tear, product defect, and partial implant of the bone.

Pain and Other Physical Complications

Knee replacement can further lead to physical complications or post-surgical effects that range from swelling to bone rejection, infection, and bone fracture. Pain is the most common complication after knee surgery. It is normal in severe conditions that a degree of pain may take place. But if the pain persists for more than six months there can be chances of faulty procedure that may further lead to long-term chronic pain in the knee portion. Several studies have shown that chronic pain is common after knee replacement. It has been found that around 16 to 44 percent of people get affected by pain as a post-surgical effect of knee replacement.

Instability and Dislocation

Instability after getting knee replacement is another serious factor to consider. It may further lead to surgery revision. It may further account for up to five revisions after a knee replacement is done. Instability can take place due to the wear or tear of implant parts. It can further cause the patient to fall and get fractures in some rare cases. Instability may also result due to dislocations of the bone implanted.

Misalignment and Failure

The components in the knee replacement need to be precisely aligned. If they do not align with the other parts, they can wear out soon. This may further fail the implant without any warning sign or symptom. Symptoms related to instability, pain, and swelling may take place. Other signs may further include reduction in the range of motion, heat around the replacement part or joint, etc. In such cases, patients may require revision of surgery to fix the misalignment problems. In such cases, excessive weight gain can be another factor affecting the motion of the replacement and causing pain in the area that may further lead to the risk of failure. However, the exact cause of the pain may be difficult to identify because it may accompany other factors. It can be a sign of infection and the combination of signs or symptoms of post-surgical effects may take place.

Where to seek help for your knee replacement?

Germanten Hospital collaborates with top German doctors that bring sophisticated procedures to further proceed with the process and caters to the best healthcare facilities in India. When it comes to technology and infrastructure, the hospital ranks among the top 10 hospitals in terms of perfection. The Hospital brings uncompromising standards with excellence.

The hospital possesses a well-trained team of orthopedic surgeons who are working behind the organization to make it a complete success. The multidisciplinary approach of Germanten Hospital is user-friendly and patient-centric that helps the patients to recover fast from their surgeries and lead a healthy life. At Germanten Hospital, you can leave your worries on your respective doctors and staff knowing that the treatment will be physically endurable. The replacement surgeries of bone correction may further lead to: