Myths to Facts on Total Knee Replacement - Myths & Facts

Dr.Aashish Chaudhry, 3 mins read

Here are some common misconceptions about knee replacements and what they are.

1. I think I should wait for as long as possible before going in for knee replacement surgery

This is far from the truth! You should not delay the surgery till the point where your pain becomes unbearable. With great advances in the quality of prosthetics, the life of joint replacements is almost 20 years and this should encourage people to go in for surgery at a younger age. A lot of our patients who come in for the best treatment for Osteoarthritis in Dwarka come in too late. Deliberately delaying required surgery makes it more challenging for surgeons, apart from that the patient's health will also deteriorate with higher chances of facing surgery-related complications.

2. Continuing with medication is also fine for as long as possible if it can avoid knee surgery.

Relief medicine like painkillers provides only symptomatic relief for a limited time, and prolonged usage comes with grave side effects like renal failure, peptic ulceration, etc. People on painkillers will also need to increase their dose after some time, and these opioids are closely linked to opioid addiction.

People who have advanced arthritis will require surgery because medicines won’t help. Many people who have rheumatoid arthritis will need a knee replacement at a comparatively young age.

3. Other therapies like acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, laser, and magnetic therapy; will cure advanced arthritis and ease knee pain.

At present there exist no scientifically proven non-surgical options that can cure advanced knee arthritis, nor are these alternate therapies backed or approved by scientific communities and data. Once again, they can give you temporary respite for initial arthritis, but they won’t cure or heal.

4. Can someone be too old for surgery?

Not at all! Age is not a factor for surgery if the patient is deemed clinically fit, so elderly patients can very well get knee replacement surgery done. Out of all our patients, some have even undergone knee replacement into their late 80s and are living their life normally after knee replacement surgery.

5. Knee replacement is painful and postoperative pain is quite considerable.

At our hospital for knee replacement surgery in Dwarka, our dedicated Pain Management Team ensures post-operative pain is reduced to almost zero. Our multimodal approach ensures that our patients feel no pain during surgery.

6. Post knee replacement, I won’t be able to do normal activities and sports.

There’s a higher chance you’ll get back to activities like brisk walking or cycling in just 6 to 12 weeks after surgery, and from there you can go on to resume sports and other strenuous activities. For the first 6-10 weeks, it is better to avoid contact games.

7. Driving won’t be easy after Knee replacement.

This again unfounded, in fact when you have knee trouble driving will be harder. Driving will naturally become much easier after knee replacement. Most patients can drive normally after 6-8 weeks of surgery.

8. After knee replacement, recovery will take months or longer.

Did you know that some of our patients got discharged on the same day as their surgery, they walked out on their own if you were wondering. Within a day of surgery, patients can independently go to the toilet.

You can even bear some wait and bend your knee by this time. In around 3 weeks patients can go out for social activities. A majority of patients can even resume their jobs in 6 weeks. So don’t worry about all these months and years you believe.

9. Knee replacement surgery is done step by step.

When a patient has no co-morbidities and is passed fit to undergo the surgery; then even both knees can be replaced in one single sitting. We’ve had many of our patients undergo both knee replacements at the same time.

10. The new prosthetic knee lasts for 10 yrs. or so

With modern-day precision, computer-assisted knee replacement, and tremendous advances in biomaterials, the average life expectancy of modern implants has increased considerably. Now joint replacements last 20- 25 years or longer and, for many people, last a lifetime

In case you’re delaying or thinking of delaying knee replacement surgery, don’t.

So don’t worry about hearsay, come to us and hear what the experts have to say.

Over the past three years, we have performed more than a thousand knee replacement surgeries for people who required the best knee replacement surgery in Dwarka, and Delhi, yet each patient of ours is provided a complete letdown of what to expect and want not when it comes to going in for knee replacement. Complacency is not an option for the best knee surgeons in Delhi, and neither for us: the best orthopaedic hospital in Dwarka.

Also Read: Measures to Reduce Bone Loss in Rheumatoid Arthritis