Knee Cap Replacement Surgery: Understanding Your Options

Deciding whether or not to get knee cap replacement surgery is tricky. Choosing surgery means going under the knife. Choosing to avoid surgery may mean lifelong pain. Being informed and making the right choice is pivotal to your future health.

Causes

• Knee cap replacement surgery is most frequently required to cure osteoarthritis in the knee. Knee pain related to tumors, bone necrosis or a decrease in the cartilage of the knee may also result in surgery.

Risks

• The National Institutes of Health warns that pneumonia, knee dislocation, slipping of the knee joint, blood clots and blood vessel injury are all possible side effects of knee cap replacement surgery.

Surgery

• Surgery will occur under general anesthesia to put you to sleep or by utilizing an epidural to block all feeling to the area. The surgeon will then remove the old knee cap, prepare the attaching bones and replace the knee cap with a prosthetic one.

Recovery

• Immediately after surgery, patients are required to stay at the hospital for 3 to 5 days. Complete recovery takes anywhere from 2 months to a year.

Benefits

• Most patients who undergo knee replacement surgery report having greater mobility and less pain.