Partial Knee Replacement for Painful Knee
A partial knee replacement for a painful knee can be very satisfying to both the patient and the surgeon.
Mdm Tan presented with progressive right knee pain of 3 months’ duration. She was mobile and independent prior to that and the pain became so severe that she had to come to see me in a wheelchair. She reached the point that she could not stand or walk.
Clinical examination showed swelling in her right knee. There was pain on the inner aspect of the right knee. She could not stand or walk without support.
X-rays and MRI scan of her right knee was done on the same day.
The x-rays showed flattening of the inner aspect of the knee (medial femoral condyle). This was consistent with a condition called osteonecrosis. This implied that the blood supply to that portion of the knee had been cut off leading to bone death. The dead bone flattened due to the pressure of walking.
This diagnosis was confirmed on MRI scan.
Pain in medial aspect of knee due to Osteonecrosis
Mdm Tan was offered a partial knee replacement surgery to treat her condition.
Uni-compartmental Knee Replacement Post-op X-ray
Uni-compartmental knee replacement post-op x-ray
Mdm Tan was able to stand up on the 1st day after surgery. She started to walk with the help of a walking frame on the 2nd day after surgery. She went home on the 3rd day after the surgery.
She was advised to do some simple knee exercises at home and given some medications for pain.
She returned for review at 13 days after the surgery. Her recovery was one of the best I have ever seen.
Below is the interview that I conducted with her and she was kind enough to agree to share this online.
You can see her right knee range of motion was excellent at less than 2 weeks after surgery. She was walking without walking aids.
She was able to get back to her daily routines such as cooking and doing household chores every early on.
For more information on whether this surgery is suitable for your painful knee, please contact Dr Chang at 683 666 36 or email hcchang@ortho.com.sg
Visit us at www.ortho.com.sg
HC Chang Orthopaedic Surgery | Singapore 