Sports Med Blog

Customized partial knee replacements for arthritis sufferers

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Published on Thursday, 10 September 2009 23:03

Written by Anne Moss Rogers

Latest News on knee surgery 

Many times older athletes suffer from joints that are arthritic which, let’s face it, limits fun and activity. The good news is that both partial and total knee replacement technology has taken a giant leap forward for the better with replacement devices customized to fit your knee. When a joint becomes so painful it's hard to participate in any activity, surgery can offer a new quality of life that makes it worth the effort.

How it is custom fitted for your knee

For partial knee replacements, ConforMIS, a device manufacturer, makes a custom knee replacement called the iUni™. It works for patients who have arthritis pain in the inner (medial) or outer (lateral) knee compartments. Patients and athletes who have arthritis in the patellafemoral compartment, also known as the knee cap, do not qualify for this procedure.

If you qualify for this new partial knee replacement surgery

First, you have a CT scan and then the device manufacturer creates a custom made replacement for your knee. In other words, you don't have to have your knee opened up to take some kind of impression prior to a surgery. They make it from the film to fit your knee exactly. I wish my dentist could do this to make a crown!

With other devices, the surgeon would have to pick a small, medium or large device, for example, and basically cut your bone while in surgery so the device would fit right, which leaves more room for error, not to mention the bone loss in the process. With this new device, the fit is completely customized resulting in a better end result.

For patients too young for total knee replacement, this buys quality time and preserves bone

For younger patients who are considered too young for full knee replacement, the bone and preserving features of the iUni is ideal. It preserves the bone (that which you did not have to have cut away) which leaves patients with more options and more bone later when and if the patient has to undergo a more invasive surgery or complete knee replacement.

To find a surgeon in your area who uses this latest procedure, go to http://www.conformis.com/ and use the “find a physician” feature.