Knee Replacement FAQs
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a form of arthritis and a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown and eventual loss of joint cartilage. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a cushion between the bones of a joint. With OA, the top layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away, allowing bones under the cartilage to rub together.
What causes OA of the knee?
Although the root cause of OA is unknown, the risk of developing symptomatic OA is influenced by multiple factors, such as age, gender and inherited traits that can affect the shape and stability of your joints. Other factors can include:
- A previous knee injury
- Repetitive strain on the knee
- Improper joint alignment
- Being overweight
- Exercise or sports-generated stress placed on the knee joints
What are the symptoms of OA of the knee?
Symptoms of OA of the knee include:
- Pain while standing or walking short distances, climbing up or down stairs, or getting in and out of chairs
- Knee pain with activity
- Start-up pain or stiffness when activities are initiated from a sitting position
- Stiffness in your knee joint after getting out of bed
- Swelling in one or more areas of the knee
- A grating sensation or crunching feeling when you use your knee
How is OA treated?
Whether your OA is mild or severe, your physician will most likely recommend certain lifestyle changes to reduce stress on your knee joints. Additional disease and pain management strategies may include: physical therapy; steroid injections; or over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or topical pain relieving creams.
Please speak with your physician if your symptoms aren’t responding to non-surgical solutions, or your pain can no longer be controlled by medication. You could be a candidate for surgery.
The most common surgical knee intervention performed for OA is a total knee replacement. During this procedure, the natural joint is removed and replaced with an artificial implant. This treatment option is usually offered to patients with advanced OA of the knee.
Total knee replacement is not always optimal for patients with early to mid-stage OA in just one or two compartments of the knee. For patients with partial OA of the knee, RIO® Partial Knee Resurfacing may be the more appropriate solution.
What is RIO?
RIO Partial Knee Resurfacing is an innovative treatment option for adults living with early- to mid-stage OA in the medial (inner), patellofemoral (top) or lateral (outer) compartments of the knee. It is powered by the RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System, an enabling implant design that allows for consistently reproducible precision in performing partial knee resurfacing.
During the procedure, the diseased portion of the knee is resurfaced, sparing the patient’s healthy bone and surrounding tissue. An implant is then secured in the joint to allow the knee to move smoothly again. RIO Partial Knee Resurfacing can:
Facilitate optimal implant positioning to result in a more natural-feeling knee following surgery
Result in a more rapid recovery and shorter hospital stay than traditional knee replacement surgery
Be performed on an outpatient basis
Promote a rapid relief from pain and return to daily activities
As a knee arthroplasty procedure, RIO is typically covered by Medicare insurance. Check with your private health insurers.
How may RIO benefit me?
The RIO Partial Knee Resurfacing procedure is designed to relieve the pain caused by joint degeneration and potentially offers the following benefits:
- Improved surgical outcomes
- Less implant wear and loosening
- Joint resurfacing
- Bone sparing
- Smaller incision
- Less scarring
- Reduced blood loss
- Minimal hospitalization
- Rapid recovery
How does RIO work?
The RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System features three-dimensional, pre-surgical planning. During surgery, the RIO provides the surgeon with real-time visual, tactile and auditory feedback to facilitate optimal joint resurfacing and implant positioning. It is this optimal placement that can result in more natural knee motion following surgery.
Who would be a good candidate for the RIO procedure?
Typically, RIO patients share the following characteristics:
- Knee pain with activity, usually on the inner knee and/or under the knee cap, or the outer knee
- Start-up knee pain or stiffness when activities are initiated from a sitting position
- Failure to respond to non-surgical treatments or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication
If I undergo RIO what can I expect?
RIO can be performed as either an inpatient procedure or an outpatient basis depending on what your orthopedic surgeon determines is right for you. Hospital stays average anywhere from one to three days, ambulatory patients return home the same day.
In many cases, patients are permitted to walk soon after surgery, drive a car within two weeks and return to normal activities shortly thereafter.
What is the lifespan of a RIO implant?
All implants have a life expectancy that depends on several factors, including the patients weight, activity level, quality of bone stock and compliance with their physician’s orders.
Proper implant alignment and precise positioning during surgery are also very important factors that can improve the life expectancy of an implant. Through the use of RIO, implants can be optimally aligned and positioned to ensure the longest benefit. RESTORIS MCK implants enable the treatment of one or two compartments with OA disease. With single compartment disease, a second compartment may be treated in the future if OA spreads. In addition, because very little bone is actually removed during a RIO procedure, the implants can be replaced with another procedure, such as a total knee replacement, if necessary.