Articles Posted in Stryker Knee

Those who work as professional horse jockey in the world of thoroughbred racing say it takes a lot of skill, hard work and dedication. There are also many health risks involved, which go far beyond injuries from falling off a horse during a race.

Many of the jockeys are forced to restrict their diets, so they do not weigh more than the extremely low (and dangerous) weight limits. This phenomenon was covered in an HBO documentary titled, “Jockey.” The competition to ride the top horses in the world means there is little room for any physical issues with riders, and even a minor injury normally means the end of a jockey’s career.

Gary Stevens was at one time one of the best riders in the sport. However, once his knee damage became too severe, he was forced to retire. Fortunately, he was able to undergo a total knee replacement and was able to get back out on the track and actually finished second in the Kentucky Derby riding Firing Line. According to a recent article from The Courier Journal, riding in the Kentucky Derby with a total knee replacement was practically unimaginable prior to Stevens’ latest race.
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While total knee replacement surgery is primarily done in older patients who have suffered years of arthritis, there is another group of patients who might be in need of an artificial knee joint. This group consists of younger athletes and those who may not even be athletes, but frequently engage in running activities such as races, marathons and triathlons.

For many of these people who are experiencing knee pain, there is a fear of going to a doctor. Their fear is based upon a belief their doctor will tell them they need a knee replacement, and after they get one, they will never be able to run again, because an artificial joint was not designed for repeated impact of regular running.

As discussed in a recent news article from the San Francisco Examiner, doctors who frequently work with patients who enjoyed running believe every year a patient can get out of their natural knee, the better. This does not mean dealing with pain until it becomes unbearable, but rather trying less invasive surgical techniques short of total knee replacement. Some of these techniques include arterial cartilage paste grafting and rebuilding a patient’s damaged meniscus or replacing it without replacing the entire knee joint. This is sometimes known as a reconstruction or partial knee replacement. Robotic surgical techniques can be used to perform a series of less invasive replacements of individual knee components. This is in contrast to the traditional advice, which is often to do nothing until the pain becomes too bad to handle after years of further deterioration.
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Many doctors tell overweight patients suffering from knee problems that being obese is a major contributing factor to their joint damage. This is the same information that doctors have been telling their patients for decades and should come as a surprise to nobody. However, many patients are already dealing with enough joint deterioration to need a total knee replacement procedure sooner rather than later.

A recent news article from U.S. News and World Report takes a closure look at this issue. One patient interviewed for the story was 60-years-old and was in need of a total knee replacement procedure. She was retired as a schoolteacher because her severe arthritis made it virtually impossible for her to do her job. She could not walk up and down the building’s three flights of stairs any longer. She had no cartilage left her in one knee by that point. She was experiencing bone on bone friction every time she walked.

She said she was always overweight since she was child. As an adult, she spent years trying to a find a surgeon who would be willing to perform a total knee replacement while she was obese. She was told to have bariatric surgery, lose weight, and come back for another consultation. She was not willing to have bariatric surgery, due to all of the dangers she had learned about the procedure.
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Each year, more Americans are choosing to undergo total knee replacement surgery than ever before. The surgery involves removing a patient’s deteriorated natural knee and replacing it with an artificial joint. The most common cause of knee problems leading to a total knee replacement is arthritis. Osteoarthritis affects millions of patients and typically gets worse as the patient gets older. The pain gets to a point where the patient can no longer stand it, and he or she elects to undergo a joint replacement procedure. There are other medical conditions that require a total knee replacement, such as sports injury or a serious accident, such as a fall.
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According to a recent news article from U.S. News and World Report, many patients have an option of choosing between partial knee replacement or total knee replacement, longevity or satisfaction, and standard or robotic-assisted surgery.

One patient interviewed for the article had knee replacement surgery on both his left and right knees. He is somewhat satisfied with the standard partial knee replacement he had around five years ago, and he is very happy with the computer-assisted/robotic partial knee replacement he had in his other knee around a month ago. He reports the second surgery had much a shorter and smoother recovery period.

While it should come as no surprise that medical technology involving hip replacement surgery has become more advanced in the past five years, this article demonstrates the vast number of decisions that must be made regarding this surgery.
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Even a successful total knee replacement surgery involves a long and painful post-operative recovery period. However, according to a recent feature from Med Page Today, this might not always be the case.

This article discusses a new medical protocol designed to do away with motor nerve blocks and reduce the use of opioid (narcotic) painkillers following surgery. With traditional protocols, doctors gave patients a broad-spectrum analgesic agent before surgery. This included a nerve block consisting of ropivacaine, as well as narcotic pain control drugs such as OyxContin, in patients who are younger than 80 years of age. In older patients, pregabalin was used along with aspirin, due to complications opioids can cause to elderly patients. During surgery, doctors administer additional medications, including tranexamic acid, multiple times.

Doctors will then administer a morphine-based pain killer through an IV. A femoral nerve catheter is used as nerve block and continued the day following surgery, along with a whole host of other medications.
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According to a recent report from the Boston Business Journal, total knee replacement and hip replacement numbers are on the rise across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts due in large part to the government health program better known as “RomneyCare.”

With more people having access to better healthcare coverage, researchers have found almost a 5 percent increase in total joint replacement procedures throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2006, when the state legislature enacted the healthcare reform program.

Among ethnic demographics, the greatest increase was seen in black and Hispanic patients, who historically had the least access to healthcare in the greater Boston area. Researchers believe there was always a demand for total joint replacement procedures among these patients, but they lacked access to health insurance necessary to the cover the high costs of surgery and recovery.
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Total knee replacement surgery involves a surgeon removing a patient’s deteriorating natural knee, cutting bone and tissues, and implanting an artificial knee. This is a highly invasive surgery with a considerably lengthy and painful recovery, even if everything goes according to plan.

Traditionally, total knee replacement was largely reserved for the elderly and those suffering a serious, debilitating knee injury. One of the reasons for avoiding total knee replacement on younger patients is most artificial knees have a useful life of around 10 years. When an artificial knee is implanted into a person who is expected to far outlive the artificial knee, the new knee will eventually break down, cause a patient pain, and require a second surgery to replace it with a newer model artificial knee. Again, this is when everything goes correctly.
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