Knee Arthritis and Knee Replacements

Question 1

what can predispose to early OA of the knee

Answer 1

previous meniscal tears, ligament injury (especially ACL deficiency) and malalignment

Question 2

what OA does gene varum predispose to

Answer 2

medial OA

Question 3

what OA does gene valgum predispose to

Answer 3

lateral OA

Question 4

what factors can lead to primary OA of the knee

Answer 4

genetics, hobbies or occupation

Question 5

what predisposes to development of patellofemoral OA

Answer 5

patellofemoral dysfunction and instability

Question 6

when can knee replacement be considered

Answer 6

substantial pain and disability where conservative measures are no longer effective

Question 7

what are the two types of knee replacements

Answer 7

total knee replacement (TKR) which resurfaces all 3 compartments of the knee
or
partial knee replacement (unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) or patellofemoral replacement)

Question 8

what are the risks of surgery

Answer 8

(similar to hip replacements)

infection, thrombosis and medical complications

Question 9

what is different to THR

Answer 9

little risk of dislocation, higher chance of unexplained pain (due to complexity of and reliance on the tension of the soft tissues around the knee)

Question 10

what are the implications of knee replacements on younger patients

Answer 10

higher failure rate requiring revision surgery, revision surgery is bigger undertaking than primary surgery (often requires the use of stems and use of a more hinged type of knee implant) and also less successful