What is it?

A total knee replacement is an operation that involves removing damaged parts of your knee and replacing them with an artificial joint to relieve pain and stiffness.

You may need a total knee replacement if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Severe pain, swelling and stiffness in your knee joint causing reduced mobility
• Severe pain which limits your quality of life and sleep
• Everyday tasks which are difficult or impossible due to pain

Diagnosis and treatment options

Your consultant may recommend our advanced diagnostic technologies to look at your knee and help them understand the cause of your pain or mobility problems.

During surgery, you’ll most likely have a general anaesthetic, meaning you will be asleep for the procedure. However, sometimes it’s preferable or necessary to have an epidural (spinal) anaesthetic. Your consultant will make the necessary incisions and begin to remove worn or damaged areas of your knee joint. They’ll then fit your new knee and close your incisions.

A conventional knee replacement should take no more than a couple of hours and you will start your recovery with us in hospital for two to five days.

Robotic knee replacement

We also offer some of the latest surgical techniques, which may be beneficial for some patients. This includes Mako robotic assisted technology which provides a personalised surgical plan for joint replacement surgery.

For pre-surgical planning, CT scans are used to create a 3D model of the patient's knee. In the operating theatre, your surgeon follows the personalised surgical plan while preparing the bone for the joint implant. The Mako robotic arm guides the consultant within pre-defined areas which prevent them from moving outside planned areas, avoiding the removal of healthy bone tissue.

As the surgeon uses the robotic arm to resurface the knee or hip joint for the placement of implants, the robotic arm uses real-time feedback to guide the surgeon's movements enabling a high degree of precision and accuracy in placing implants.