by Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Paul Gibb
Over 100,000 knee replacements are performed annually in the United Kingdom and the operation has become one of the most durable and successful of joint replacements.
Although the knee joint is a more complex joint than the hip, knee replacement is now as safe and as reliable as hip replacement. Knee replacement is a very successful operation, over 90% of patients reporting relief of pain and around 80% reporting their results as good or excellent.
A variety of different types of knee replacement are available, National Joint Registries demonstrating that the most durable knee replacements are cemented condylar in type, with a clinical survivorship of over 95% at ten years.The vast majority of knee replacements performed by Mr Gibb are of this variety. Unicompartmental or partial knee replacement is performed in selected cases.
Pain is the principal indication for knee replacement, and the operation reliably relieves pain in the vast majority of patients. This pain relief is principally responsible for the relief of disability commonly experienced by patients with knee arthritis, allowing them to resume most normal activities, including recreational and some social sporting activity.
