Par­tial Knee Re­pla­ce­ment Spe­cia­list Vienna

The main ad­van­tage of mi­ni­mally in­va­sive uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty is that only the da­ma­ged part of the joint is re­pla­ced, ther­eby pre­ser­ving the he­althy joint area. This leads to more na­tu­ral knee mo­ve­ment and a shorter re­ha­bi­li­ta­tion pe­riod com­pared to a to­tal knee re­pla­ce­ment. Fur­ther­more, the pro­ce­dure is less in­va­sive, re­sul­ting in less post­ope­ra­tive pain and a fas­ter he­al­ing process. 

A mi­ni­mally in­va­sive uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty is sui­ta­ble for pa­ti­ents whose knee os­teo­ar­thri­tis is con­fi­ned to a por­tion of the joint and whose re­mai­ning joint sur­faces are still int­act. This me­thod is par­ti­cu­larly ad­van­ta­ge­ous for pa­ti­ents with va­rus os­teo­ar­thri­tis, where the ar­thri­tis is li­mi­ted to the in­ner side of the knee. A tho­rough ex­ami­na­tion and ima­ging pro­ce­du­res such as X‑rays or MRI are ne­ces­sary to de­ter­mine if this pro­sthe­sis is the right choice. 

The pro­ce­dure is per­for­med via a mi­ni­mally in­va­sive ap­proach, in­vol­ving only a small in­cis­ion to ac­cess the af­fec­ted part of the joint. The da­ma­ged car­ti­lage and bone are re­mo­ved and re­pla­ced with the uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty. The mi­ni­mally in­va­sive tech­ni­que spa­res the sur­roun­ding tis­sues, in­clu­ding mus­cles and ten­dons, lea­ding to fas­ter he­al­ing and re­du­ced stress for the patient. 

As with any sur­gi­cal pro­ce­dure, there are risks as­so­cia­ted with the im­plan­ta­tion of a uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty, in­clu­ding in­fec­tions, blood clots, throm­bo­sis, and, in rare ca­ses, is­sues with pro­sthe­sis po­si­tio­ning. It is also pos­si­ble for os­teo­ar­thri­tis to pro­gress in the re­mai­ning knee joint, which could lead to a to­tal knee re­pla­ce­ment at a la­ter stage. Careful fol­low-up care and re­gu­lar check-ups are im­portant to de­tect and treat po­ten­tial com­pli­ca­ti­ons early. 

The re­co­very time af­ter mi­ni­mally in­va­sive uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty im­plan­ta­tion is ge­ne­rally shorter than af­ter a to­tal knee re­pla­ce­ment. Most pa­ti­ents can be­gin re­ha­bi­li­ta­tion wi­thin a few days to weeks af­ter sur­gery and re­sume light ac­ti­vi­ties af­ter about six weeks. Ho­we­ver, full re­co­very, in­clu­ding a re­turn to sports ac­ti­vi­ties, can take se­ve­ral months. Phy­sio­the­rapy plays a cru­cial role in res­to­ring mo­bi­lity and strength in the knee. 

The life­span of a mi­ni­mally in­va­sive uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty can be 10 to 15 ye­ars or lon­ger, de­pen­ding on the pa­ti­en­t’s phy­si­cal ac­ti­vity, the ma­te­ri­als used, and the exact pla­ce­ment of the pro­sthe­sis. Re­gu­lar fol­low-up ex­ami­na­ti­ons are cru­cial to mo­ni­tor the pro­sthe­sis and make ad­jus­t­ments if ne­ces­sary to ma­xi­mize its lifespan. 

Yes, if ne­ces­sary, a mi­ni­mally in­va­sive uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty can la­ter be re­pla­ced by a to­tal knee pro­sthe­sis. This may be­come ne­ces­sary if os­teo­ar­thri­tis pro­gres­ses in the re­mai­ning knee joint. The ad­van­tage of the uni­com­part­mental knee ar­thro­plasty is that it can de­lay the ti­ming of a to­tal knee re­pla­ce­ment by in­iti­ally trea­ting only the af­fec­ted area of the joint. 

Af­ter the ope­ra­tion, it is im­portant to fol­low the gi­ven in­s­truc­tions pre­cis­ely to op­ti­mally sup­port the he­al­ing pro­cess. This in­cludes re­gu­lar par­ti­ci­pa­tion in phy­sio­the­rapy to res­tore knee mo­bi­lity and strength, avo­i­ding ex­ces­sive strain, and con­sis­t­ently im­ple­men­ting re­ha­bi­li­ta­tion me­a­su­res. A he­althy life­style and avo­i­ding risk fac­tors such as obe­sity can also help ex­tend the life­span of the pro­sthe­sis and en­sure suc­cessful recovery.