Advanced Knee Replacement Options for Women
Now more than ever, your surgeon can choose from a number of knee replacement implants to meet your individual needs. Among the knee systems available to your surgeon is the Rotating Platform knee. Rotating Platform knees are designed to accommodate normal movement and meet your body's need for normal knee rotation.
Why is knee rotation important? What’s the benefit of it to me as a woman?
Many people believe that the knee joint acts as a hinge, which can only bend and straighten like a door. In reality, the knee is much more complex because the surfaces roll and glide against each other as the knee joint bends. For women, rotation is especially important, because women’s knees rotate more than men’s during deep knee bending.1 Rotation is important for walking, kneeling to garden, sitting to drive or travel, exercising, yoga, kneeling in church, climbing stairs, and playing with your children or grandchildren.
The human knee actually rotates slightly during both deep bending and normal activity.1,2 DePuy
Orthopaedics, Inc. offers the only knee implant in the United States
that is designed to bend, rotate, and allow for deep flexion, the Rotating Platform knee. Unlike traditional implants, knees with a Rotating Platform are able to both bend and rotate, which helps accommodate for more normal movement.
For more active patients, as well as those who may need the ability to deeply bend their knee for activities that are important to them, the Rotating Platform High-Flex knee may be a good option.
Your surgeon will evaluate your mobility, as well as your rehabilitation goals, to determine if you are a good candidate for a Rotating Platform knee. Rotating Platform knees are proven to reduce implant wear by 94% over traditional knee implants.3 Also, patients followed for several years in a DePuy Orthopaedics multi-surgeon study reported a 97% satisfaction rate with their Rotating Platform knee replacement five years after surgery.4
The way a knee replacement will perform depends on your age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks, and recovery takes time. If you have conditions that limit rehabilitation you should not have this surgery. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can tell you if knee replacement is right for you.
Reference:
1. Hsu, Wei-Hsiu, et al. "Difference in Torsional Joint Stiffness of the Knee Between Genders." The American Journal of Sports Medicine 34 (5) May 2006: 765-770.
2. Nakagawa, S. et al. "Tibiofemoral Movement3: Full Flexion in Living Knee Studied by MRI." Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 82-B: 8 (2000).
3. McNulty, D. et al. "The Effect of Crosslinking UHMWPE on In Vitro Wear Rates of Fixed and Mobile Bearing Knees." ASTM STP 1445. (www.astm.org) 2004.
4. DePuy Multi-Center Study; DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. internal data (2006).
Last Updated: 12/12/2006