Knees

Knee Anatomy :: Knee Arthroscopy
ACL Reconstruction :: Total Knee Replacement
Uniknee Replacement :: Revision Knee Replacement

Normal Anatomy of the Knee Joint

How does the Knee joint work?
Find out more in this web based movie.

Knee Arthroscopy

Partial Meniscectomy
Meniscus Repair
ACL Reconstruction
Cartilage Restoration
Chondroplasty
OATS Procedure
Allograft Meniscal Transplantation

Partial Meniscectomy

Partial meniscectomy is partial removal of unstable meniscus, and smoothening of the remaining meniscus edges.

Meniscus is the C-shaped cartilage located in the knee that lubricates the knee joint, controls flexion and extension of joint, acts as shock-absorbers. Partial meniscectomy helps in restoring or maintaining knee stability and offers faster and complete recovery.

Meniscus Repair

Meniscal injuries occur when upper leg is rotated or twisted without moving the foot. Meniscal repair is essential when the torn meniscus does not heal on its own even after the patient is at rest and the movement of damaged part is restricted (using brace).

Meniscal repair depends on extent of tear and the blood supply to the region. Arthroscopic surgical method is often preferred as it minimizes knee damage because of surgery and promotes complete recovery.

Cartilage Restoration

Cartilage restoration is the technique of stimulating the growth of damaged cartilage. Cartilage restoration delays or prevents the onset of arthritis.

Cartilage is the smooth and flexible tissue covering the ends of the bones at the site of joints. Injuries may damage the cartilage and as the cartilage does not heal on its own, surgical procedures are essential to restore the damaged cartilage. Various surgical procedures include microfracture, drilling, abrasion arthroplasty, autologous chondrocyte implantation, osteochondral autograft transplantation and osteochondral allograft transplantation.

Chondroplasty

Chondroplasty is a surgical procedure of reshaping the joint surface where the roughened and damaged articular cartilage behind the knee cap is cut, shaved and lasered.

Chondroplasty stimulates the growth of new cartilage. Newer procedures employ laser and radiofrequency electrothermal ablation techniques for chondroplasty.

OATS Procedure

Osteoarticular Transfer System (OATS) procedure is a surgical technique of replacing the defective or damaged cartilage by the healthy cartilage. The healthy cartilage may be obtained from different part of same knee (autograft) or may be taken from a donor (allograft).

The OATS procedure may be relevant for the relatively small cartilage damage varying between 10 and 20 millimeters.

Allograft Meniscal Transplantation

Allograft meniscal transplantation is a surgical procedure where severely damaged meniscus, cartilage in the knee, is replaced with new meniscus collected from the donor.

Allograft meniscal transplantation offers symptomatic pain relief and is an accepted method for treatment of pain in patients who suffer pain despite of partial or total meniscectomy.

Find out more about Knee Arthroscopy from the following links.

Total Knee Replacement (TKR)

A total knee replacement (TKR) or total knee arthroplasty is a surgery that resurfaces an arthritic knee joint with an artificial metal or plastic replacement parts called the ‘prostheses'.

Find out more about Total Knee Replacement with the following links.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament ACL Reconstruction

The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the major stabilizing ligaments in the knee. It is a strong rope like structure located in the centre of the knee running from the femur to the tibia. When this ligament tears unfortunately it doesn't heal and often leads to the feeling of instability in the knee.

ACL reconstruction is a commonly performed surgical procedure and with recent advances in arthroscopic surgery can now be performed with minimal incisions and low complication rates.

ACL Reconstruction Hamstring Tendon

ACL Reconstruction Patellar Tendon

Uni Condylar Knee Replacement

This simply means that only a part of the knee joint is replaced through a smaller incision than would normally be used for a total knee replacement. The knee joint is made up of 3 compartments, the patellofemoral and medial and lateral compartments between the femur and tibia (i.e. the long bones of the leg). Often only one of these compartments wears out, usually the medial one. If you have symptoms and X-ray findings suggestive of this then you may be suitable for this procedure.

Find out more about Unicondylar Knee Replacement with the following links.

Revision Knee Replacement

This means that part or all of your previous knee replacement needs to be revised. This operation varies from very minor adjustments to massive operations replacing significant amounts of bone and hence is difficult to describe in full.

Find out more about Revision Knee Replacement with the following links.

Please use the links below to get more information from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

Broken Bones and Injury

Common Knee Injuries
Hamstring Muscle Strain
Muscle Strains in the Thigh

Fractures

Femur (Thighbone) Fractures in Adults
Femur (Thighbone) Fractures in Children Growth Plate Fractures Proximal Tibia Fractures
Shinbone (Tibia) Fractures
Stress Fractures

Tears and Instability

Kneecap, Unstable
Ligament Injuries of the Knee
Meniscus, Tears of
Posterior Cruciate Ligament, Tears of

Pain Syndromes

Osgood-Schlatter Disease (Knee Pain)
Runner's Knee (Patellofemoral Pain)
Shin Splints

Diseases and Syndromes

Bowed Legs
Bursitis of the Knee: Goosefoot (Pes Anserine)
Bursitis of the Knee: Kneecap (Prepatellar)
Limb Length Discrepency
Osteonecrosis of the Knee