Partial Knee Replacement Specialist

What is a partial knee replacement?

The structure of your knee joint relies on the four bones that form the joint. The two bones in your lower leg, the tibia and fibula, meet your thigh bone, or femur. The fourth bone, the kneecap or patella, slides along a groove in the femur.

These bones divide your knee joint into three compartments:

• Patellofemoral compartment (where the kneecap and femur meet)
• Medial compartment (the inside part of the knee)
• Lateral compartment (the outside part of the knee)

When your knee damage is limited to one compartment, your New Braunfels Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine surgeon can perform a partial knee replacement, allowing you to keep more of your natural ligaments, cartilage, and bone.

Who is a good candidate for a partial knee replacement?

You may be a good candidate for a partial knee replacement when your ligaments are healthy, and only one compartment is affected by osteoarthritis. 

This procedure isn’t possible if you have rheumatoid arthritis because it causes inflammation throughout the joint.

If an injury damages your knee joint, chances are the damage affects more than one structure. A partial knee replacement may not be an option following an injury.

How is a partial knee replacement performed?

During a partial knee replacement, also called a unicompartmental knee replacement, your surgeon begins by gently pushing the supporting ligaments out of the way. Then they remove the damaged tissues in one compartment, implant metal replacements, and insert a plastic spacer between the two metal components.

What is a patient-specific and robotic-assisted partial knee replacement?

The team at New Braunfels Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine often performs partial knee replacements using patient-specific or robotic-assisted surgery. Before your surgery, they may use an MRI or CT scan to create a three-dimensional model of your knee.

Using the model, your doctor precisely determines the size and position of your partial replacement.

if your surgeon performs the surgery with robotic assistance, a robotic arm tracks your anatomy and guides tissue removal, as well as the placement of the prosthesis. This helps to precisely implant the prosthesis.

If you have knee osteoarthritis and need a joint replacement, call New Braunfels Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, or schedule an appointment online to learn if you’re a good candidate for a partial knee replacement.