An Alternative To Total Knee Replacement

If you’re like many people with knee pain, you’ll try just about anything—including suffering through the pain—to avoid surgery.  Luckily for some, there’s an alternative to total knee-replacement surgery. In many cases, according to Michael A. Schwartz, an orthopedic surgeon at White Plains Hospital, people from age 35 to 50 can often opt for a partial knee replacement or resurfacing.

“Partial knee resurfacing is a good option for active people whose arthritis and age are not advanced enough” to warrant total knee replacement, says Schwartz, a former assistant team physician for the Philadelphia Phillies.  Patients get a custom fit, and the ligament is preserved for a more natural-functioning joint. The procedure, which uses high-tech robotics, is also “less drastic and more precise” than a total knee replacement, according to Schwartz.

Other benefits of partial knee resurfacing include less pain and discomfort than with a total knee replacement; a quicker recovery time (four to eight weeks, rather than 12); fewer complications; and the “removal” of arthritis in the area. “Osteoarthritis can’t be cured,” Schwartz explains. “But, by taking out the diseased part of the knee, it can be removed.”

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