Debilitating and persistent knee pain can reduce your mobility, lessen your quality of life, and limit your ability to work. Knee pain has many causes including injury, disease, or structural disorders, but one of the most common sources of knee pain is osteoarthritis.
When knee pain caused by osteoarthritis keeps you from enjoying your everyday activities, it’s time to seek treatment.
Osteoarthritis affects over 10% of men and women in the United States, and is a growing concern. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, there is no cure for osteoarthritis. But at WWMG, our Orthopedics team offers many treatment options to help individuals manage knee pain and stay active.
Read on to learn about a revolutionary procedure offered at WWMG that’s designed to treat people suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. This minimally invasive surgery is called MAKOplasty. Before we dive in, there are a few things you should know about MAKOplasty and osteoarthritis of the knee.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis occurs in a joint when the cushion between the bones is broken down, leaving the bones without a protective barrier in between. When this happens, the bones rub closer together, resulting in pain, swelling, injury, bone spurs, and decreased mobility.
Contributing factors to Osteoarthritis include:
- Heredity –Some genetic mutations can affect the shape of the bones in the knee joint, leading to increased risk of osteoporosis
- Gender – Women of advanced age are more likely to develop osteoarthritis
- Repetitive stress injuries – Often due to job demands or athletics
- Certain illnesses – Patients with rheumatoid arthritis or metabolic disorders
If you are diagnosed with osteoarthritis, your physician will give you treatment options. Most likely, they will prescribe non-surgical treatment options first.
Non-Surgical Treatments for Osteoarthritis
For patients with early stage osteoarthritis of the knee, non-surgical treatments are usually recommended first. These treatments may include:
- anti-inflammatory medications – to reduce inflammation and help the patient manage pain
- altering or eliminating certain activities – to lessen stress on the knee joint, or
- implementing a weight loss regimen – to reduce constant strain on the knee joint
If the knee pain does not respond positively to nonsurgical treatments, surgery may be considered.
What is MAKOplasty?
Offering patients an alternative to traditional total knee replacement surgery, MAKOplasty uses robotic technology to execute a less invasive and highly successful knee replacement procedure, designed to relieve pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee.
While MAKOplasty has been available for only partial knee replacements, it has just recently become available at WWMG as a method for total knee replacement. MAKOplasty offers a minimally invasive and highly precise alternative for those with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis of the knee.
MAKOplasty is FDA approved and uses the RIO® Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System that provides advanced surgical accuracy. Combined with CT scans and advanced 3D modeling, the RIO® robotic technology assists the surgeon to deliver customized treatment with high precision.
This technology assists the surgeon in targeting and replacing only the damaged portion of the knee with a robotic piece, and helps the surgeon align the implant and secure it onto the joint. This minimal approach spares healthy tissue and bone from unnecessary removal or trauma, often leading to faster recovery times and a better patient experience when using the joint post-surgery.
Who is a good candidate for MAKOplasty?
Ideal candidates for MAKOplasty are patients with early to mid-stage osteoarthritis in the medial (inner), patellofemoral (top), or lateral (outer) compartments of the knee. Ask your Orthopedic physician if you are a candidate for MAKOplasty if you have:
- One or more non-arthritic compartments of the knee
- Pain while performing everyday activities
- Swelling of the knee
- Stiffness of the knee
- Difficulty doing normal everyday activities such as walking up the stairs
- Tried nonsurgical options and found them unsuccessful
It’s important to note that an Orthopedic physician must complete a thorough medical examination before your eligibility for MAKOplasty surgery can be determined.
MAKOplasty Procedure
In your initial consultation, your physician will first study your medical records, complete a thorough examination of your knee joint, and observe your knee as you stand and move. The doctor will evaluate your structural alignment, your range of motion, and your ligament stability.
If your physician determines that you are a viable candidate for MAKOplasty, you may be referred to an orthopedic surgeon at WWMG. Here’s what you can expect.
Your surgeon will order CT scans of your affected knee, which are then used to create 3D digital models of your knee. Using these models, your surgeon will design a tailored knee implant, specifically designed to fit your joint.
During the knee resurfacing procedure, the surgeon will remove only the affected areas of your knee through a small incision.
Once the affected parts have been removed, a robotic arm will assist your surgeon in precisely aligning and securing the implant onto the joint, providing real-time intraoperative adjustments for correct knee kinematics and soft tissue balance.
The recovery time for this procedure is relatively short compared to traditional knee replacement methods, due to its minimally invasive nature. Many people are able to walk just hours afterward. Returning to everyday activities can take between 1-4 weeks depending on the extent of the surgery and the health of the patient.
Benefits of MAKOplasty
There are major benefits of MAKOplasty when compared to traditional total knee replacement surgery. Here are a just a few:
- More precise implant placement
- Shorter hospital stay and faster recovery
- Surgery can be performed on an outpatient basis
- Minimal blood loss
- Smaller scar
- A more natural feeling knee post-surgery
- Return to normal activity within a few weeks
MAKOplasty at WWMG
Our award-winning surgeons in the WWMG Orthopedic, Sports, Spine & Hand clinic offer patients the latest technology in partial and total joint replacement and MAKOplasty.
At WWMG, we are pleased to provide MAKOplasty to adult patients needing knee resurfacing for osteoarthritis of the knee. If you or someone you love has osteoarthritis of the knee, request an appointment with a WWMG Orthopedic surgeon today.