Brevard Orthopaedics

A New Surgical Alternative For Those With Knee Arthritis

Judith Pitzer has not been one to ever consider slowing down or act her age. She has taken all challenges in life with the same degree of enthusiasm that she infused into the game of field hockey while an athlete in high school and college. For years, her passion for the game allowed her to play through several injuries most minor in nature, but occasionally the injury was more serious. Later, when she was unable to play the game, she became a referee for the sport she loved. She is now taking the same positive attitude toward her recovery from her recent knee surgery.

Several years ago she began having twinges of discomfort in her knee and it reminded her of some of those memorable contests on the field, but this time the pain didn't go away, instead it slowly worsened. When she finally decided to do something about it she found herself in the office of a local orthopaedic surgeon. X-rays revealed arthritis. Several non-surgical options were tried to relieve her of the nagging pain, but when she was not satisfied with the pain relief obtained with medications and injections she asked her orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Angus Graham of Brevard Orthopaedics, what surgical options were available. That is when she heard for the first time about a relatively new technique in knee replacement surgery called the "Uni", short for uni-condylar knee replacement.

Up until a few years ago the most common surgical treatment chosen by those active people with a severely arthritic knee was a total knee replacement (TKR) once they had stopped getting better using the commonly available medications and injections. That surgery - TKR- is a tough one and very painful. Fortunately, over the last few years a new surgical procedure in knee replacement has been developed using the latest in technology, materials, and minimally invasive surgical techniques. The "Uni" is a way to surgically replace just the part of the knee that is worn out and allow the healthy part of the knee to remain intact. This makes for a more natural feeling knee and typically an easier recovery with less pain, a smaller incision, and a shorter hospital stay. Doctor Graham, who has been doing TKRs for over 10 years, has recently trained in this new technique at the University of Maryland in Baltimore by one of the surgeons that developed the technique. He mentioned the new procedure to Judith as a possible alternative to the more involved total knee replacement - he had been impressed with both the reported results by the developers of the new joint, as well as, the early results he had seen in his first few patients. Judith has not looked back since the decision was made to proceed. Dr. Graham told her that the surgery would actually be two surgeries in one since he would first need to look inside her knee with a fiberoptic camera, an arthroscope, to confirm what the X-rays already suggested - a relatively normal knee, free of arthritis in all areas, except for the inside (medial) aspect of the joint where her knee hurt the most. After the surgery she did not require the usual blood transfusion and she was pleased that her health insurance allowed her to take advantage of Transylvania Community Hospital's Rehabilitation unit. By the end of the first week her knee range of motion was noticeably ahead of where one would be after a TKR, and by the fourth week she was walking without a walker or a cane.

"Now as she returns to her energetic schedule she smiles with relief knowing that thanks to many people, including the hospital nurses, nurses aides, physical therapist, doctors, and her "Uni" knee, she can walk without thinking about that arthritic knee and memories of those long ago field hockey games are no longer quite so painful." (AG M.D. Jan. '03)