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All topics
  1. What it is
  2. Who it helps
  3. Timing
  4. The procedure
  5. Patient journey
  6. Recovery supplies
  7. Implant designs
  8. Side-by-side
  9. Robotics and alignment
  10. US manufacturers
  11. What the evidence says
  12. Value analysis
  13. Questions to ask
  14. Resources
  15. Glossary
  16. References

Terms

Glossary

Arthroplasty
Joint replacement surgery. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a total knee replacement.
Osteoarthritis
Wear-and-tear arthritis, where the cartilage that cushions the joint breaks down.
Unicompartmental (partial) knee replacement
Replacing only the damaged part of the knee, usually the inner (medial) side.
Femoral component
The metal part that caps the end of the thighbone.
Tibial component
The metal tray fixed to the top of the shinbone.
Polyethylene insert
The plastic spacer between the metal parts that acts as the new gliding surface.
Patellar resurfacing
Covering the back of the kneecap with a plastic button.
Cemented / cementless
Fixing the implant with bone cement, or with a porous surface that bone grows into.
Cruciate-retaining (CR)
An implant design that keeps the posterior cruciate ligament.
Posterior-stabilized (PS)
A design that removes the posterior cruciate ligament and uses a post and cam in the implant instead.
Medial-congruent / medial-pivot
Designs with a deeper inner side, intended to mimic how the natural knee pivots.
Mechanical / kinematic alignment
Two philosophies for positioning the implant: a straight leg axis for everyone, or recreating each person's natural knee angles.
Robotic-assisted surgery
Using a robotic system to plan and guide bone cuts; the surgeon still performs the operation.
Revision
A second operation to replace some or all of a knee implant.
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI)
An infection around a joint replacement.
Arthrofibrosis
Excess scar tissue that makes the knee stiff after surgery.
Manipulation under anesthesia (MUA)
Bending a stiff knee while the patient is asleep to break up scar tissue.
VTE, DVT and PE
Blood clots: venous thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis (usually in the leg) and pulmonary embolism (in the lungs).
Prehab
Exercise and preparation before surgery to improve recovery.
510(k) clearance
The FDA pathway most knee implants use to reach the US market.