Any joint replacement surgery is always a very serious procedure and should only be used as the last resort after any avenues to deal with the problem through way of non-operative means has been exhausted.
A knee replacement surgery is performed with the surgeon removing the damaged joint and replacing it with an implant that has been created of metal and plastic. The procedure may seem very complicated and therefore the chances of knee replacement surgery risks are also very high. Since the knee joint is very important when it comes to conducting daily activities, it is necessary that you speak to the doctor on the knee replacement surgery risks and complications that could take place. The discussion would also provide different options for faster healing of the joint after surgery. A lot of the urgency and the importance of having a total knee replacement surgery performed and the risks involved are linked to the root cause of the complication. For instance, in the event that the surgery is the result of the knee cap having been shattered though some kind of accident, most cases will see the knee cap replaced immediately. However, the more common instances see the knee replacement surgery performed as the result of degeneration of tissue in the area due to inflammation and conditions such as osteoarthritis.
Coming to total knee replacement risks, considering that the whole knee joint is being replaced, can be substantial. Studies have shown that about 90% of all those that undergo a knee replacement procedure generally show no complications, but the other 10% that do experience total knee replacement surgery complications will usually face some significant obstacles in their recovery time lines. Blood clots are one of the more common total knee replacement risks and will usually develop in regions such as the large veins of the leg and the pelvis. In order to counter this, your doctor is likely to put you onto some kind of blood thinning medication to ease the blood clots out of your system.
Infection is an extremely serious and rare, yet possible occurrence. The infection can occur either immediately after the operation or even years down the road. In the more serious cases of this kind of total knee replacement risks, the implant may even need to be removed and replaced before the infection is allowed to spread and affect other areas of the body. Stiffness in the leg around there are just after the operation is a common concern and is likely to occur with almost any kind of surgery.