Total Knee Replacement

If the patient is suffering from cancer, heart, kidney or lung problems, peripheral vascular disease, clotting or infectious diseases, muscle weakness and obesity, it is not ideal for performing total knee replacement surgery.

How many days should I travel/stay abroad to do the treatment?

5 to 7 days

How many days should I travel/stay abroad to do the treatment?

5 to 7 days

Before the operation, the patient should stop taking any immunosuppressive drugs and aspirin for around 2 weeks. Also, the complications of the surgery might be increased due to smoking. Therefore, it is advised to quit smoking for 2 weeks before the operation. Additionally, all sorts of drugs and alcohol should be avoided before the surgery as well.

During the total knee replacement operation, firstly general anesthesia is administered then surgeons make an incision on the knee. In order to see the incision site clearly, the patient’s knee is positioned in a 90-degree angle.Any damaged cartilage structures are removed from the patient’s knee at this point – the bone is also reshaped for the new prosthesis. The total knee replacement is then attached to the femur and tibia. The patella is also attached, and the incision is closed with sutures – the total knee replacement recovery period can begin.

After the surgery, patients stay at the hospital for around 5-7 days. However, the total recovery period from the total knee surgery is around 6 weeks. A couple of days after the surgery patient will be able to sit and walk.

Even though total knee replacement surgery complications are rare (affects 1% of the patients union there are several complications that involve scarring, lowered knee mobility caused by scar tissue, misaligned or loose prosthetic components, infections, complications related to anesthesia and excessive bleeding.

Side effects of the total knee replacement involve nausea, bleeding, bruising, pain in the knees area, dizziness, and headaches.

The success rate of total knee replacement operation is regularly around 95%. Also, 80%  of the prosthetics, do not necessitate any revision for more than 20 years.

After the total knee replacement, more than 90% of the patients state that they experienced pain relief, but it should be noted that physical therapy is crucial in order to gain full mobility. Physical therapy sessions are necessitated for at least a couple of months.

Are there any alternatives to total knee replacement surgery? 
Yes, there are alternative treatments such as partial knee replacement surgery, but the suitability is depended on the patient’s medical condition.

When can I start doing sports again?
Patients can enjoy low impact activities such as swimming and golfing in a couple of months after the procedure. After the operation, activities which cause strong pressure on the knees should be avoided, such as basketball, tennis, jogging, etc.

When can I return to work? 
After the total knee replacement surgery between 2 to 4 weeks, most of the patients return to their daily routine but still, patients should avoid physically challenging activities for several months.

This content is written and reviewed by our medical content team in August, 2019.