Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: A Patient's Guide to Partial Knee Replacement using Minimally-Invasive Surgery (MIS) Techniques.

Preparing for surgery

Preparation

Patients undergoing mini knee surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center usually will undergo a pre-operative surgical risk assessment. When necessary, further evaluation will be performed by an Internal Medicine physician who specializes in pre-operative evaluation and risk-factor modification. Some patients will also be evaluated by an anesthesiologist in advance of the surgery.

Routine blood tests are performed on all pre-operative patients; chest X-rays and electrocardiograms are obtained in patients who meet certain age and health criteria, as well.

At the University of Washington, surgeons will spend time with the patient in advance of the surgery, making certain that all the patient's questions and concerns, as well as those of the family, are answered.

Costs

The surgeon's office should provide a reasonable estimate of:

• the surgeon's fee,
• the hospital fee, and
• the degree to which these should be covered by the patient's insurance.

Surgical team

The mini knee requires an experienced orthopedic surgeon and the resources of a large medical center. Patients have complex medical needs and around surgery often require immediate access to a multiple medical and surgical specialties and in-house medical, physical therapy, and social support services.

Finding an experienced surgeon

There is good evidence that the experience of the surgeon performing partial knee replacement affects the outcome. It is important that your surgeon is not only an experienced knee replacement surgeon; (s)he also should have a high level of skill and experience with the minimally-invasive approach.

Some questions to consider asking your knee surgeon:

• Are you board certified in orthopedic surgery?
• Have you done a fellowship (a year of additional training, beyond the five years required to become an orthopedic surgeon) in joint replacement surgery?
• For how long have you been performing the mini knee?

Facilities

A large hospital, usually with academic affiliation and equipped with state of the art radiologic imaging equipment and intensive medicine care unit is clearly preferable in the care of patients with knee arthritis.

Surgery for arthritis of the knee at the University of Washington, Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Seattle, Washington

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