Partial vs. Total Knee Replacement: How Surgeons Decide What You Need

Have you ever stopped to express true gratitude to your knees? If not, you should!

Your knees are your body’s largest joints, and they help you stay upright and balanced, walk, run, jump, and travel through life, amazingly. 

However, wear and tear, osteoarthritis, and injuries weaken and compromise your knees over time. This is why knee replacement surgery is so prevalent.

A key question an orthopedic surgeon asks when a person needs knee replacement surgery is whether they’ll require just a partial knee replacement or if a total knee replacement is in order.

Your surgeon makes this decision only after much thought, evaluation, and imaging, and methodically considers multiple factors before making a recommendation. 

Over his distinguished career, Dr. Vasilios Mathews has performed thousands of partial and full knee replacements, but only after carefully weighing each patient’s unique needs. 

His commitment to educating patients, making thoughtful recommendations on which surgery is best for each patient, and his outstanding track record make him highly sought after throughout Houston and beyond.

First, some knee joint facts

We noted that your knee is your body’s most sizable joint, but what’s it composed of?

Your knee joint contains three compartments that contain muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and nerves. The bones in your knee joint are your femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone), and the patella (kneecap). 

When your knees sustain damage, debilitating symptoms can develop, including:

• Intermittent or chronic pain
• Mobility challenges
• Inflammation
• Redness of the skin
• A warm sensation
• Your knee may make a grinding or popping sound as you move

The compartments in your knee are the lateral, or outer side of your knee, the medial, or inner side compartment, and the patellofemoral compartment, which is behind the kneecap. 

Over 700,000 total knee replacements are performed in the United States annually, while partial knee replacement is far less common, with only 10-15% of people consulting with orthopedic surgeons about this surgery eligible for it. 

Do you need a partial or full knee replacement?

Let’s dive into the factors that lead Dr. Mathews to recommend either partial or full knee replacement for a patient.

First, Dr. Mathews turns to the option of surgery if more conservative treatments have failed, and you’re experiencing severe pain and mobility limitations. These include approaches like physical therapy, pain medication, and corticosteroid injections. 

A major factor Dr. Mathews focuses on when considering repair options for your knee is how many of its three compartments are damaged and contributing to your pain. 

If the disease and damage to your knee are limited to the inner (medial) side, he will likely recommend a partial knee replacement and simply reshape the damaged surfaces. Additionally, a partial replacement is required if the lateral, outer side of your knee contains healthy cartilage. 

If, on the other hand, more or all compartments of your knee are contributing to your pain and movement issues, a total knee replacement is appropriate. 

As it turns out, the majority of patients sustain more damage to their knees than a partial replacement can address, so many more total replacements are performed, where diseased tissue is removed and replaced with a prosthetic joint. 

Houston minimally invasive robotic knee surgery

When Dr. Mathews performs either partial or total knee replacement, he employs minimally invasive, muscle-sparing surgical techniques whenever he can. Minimally invasive surgery requires smaller incisions and specially designed instruments and is less traumatic to the body. It’s also associated with faster recovery, reduced bleeding and scarring, and a lower incidence of postoperative infection. 

Dr. Mathews is highly experienced in robotic knee replacement procedures as well, allowing him to personalize your surgery more precisely than ever before, thanks to unmatched technology.

With partial knee replacement, the healthy tissue isn’t touched, and Dr. Mathews just replaces the damaged tissue with a human-made implant. This procedure is also advised if you:

• Have had knee surgery previously
• If your legs are bowed
• Live with osteochondritis dissecans, which causes loose/cracked bones due to low blood supply
• Live with avascular necrosis, also caused by blood flow loss, and is often disease-related

Dr. Mathews is proud to use an innovative tool for partial knee replacements — the Oxford Mobile Bearing Knee. This advanced polyethylene component can be implanted in a minimally invasive way, is bone-sparing, and allows you the greatest knee movement and best functionality after surgery.

The outcome of a partial knee replacement provides smoother, more fluid movement than a total replacement, but post-surgical physical therapy and other aftercare can help you achieve the best outcome, whichever procedure you need. 

Advanced solutions for knee pain

If you’re experiencing knee pain, limited movement, and other problems, call our Houston office at 713-794-3548 to schedule an appointment, or you may book one using our convenient online booking tool.