|
Knee Joint Replacement for Women
Dr. David Lionberger,
Orthopaedic Surgeon
The Methodist Hospital |
Did you know that of the more than 400,000 knee replacement surgeries performed each year, more than 60 percent of the patients are women? But until recently, there wasn't an implant designed especially for women.
Years of biomedical research have shown there are significant differences between the knees of the two genders. For example, women's knees tend to be thinner and narrower than men's. If an implant is too wide, it can hang over the bone and joint surface, causing discomfort. A woman's pelvis is also wider than a man's, causing her kneecaps to move at a different angle. The shape of a woman's knee can also make traditional implants feel a bit bulky, making walking
feel unnatural.
Creating Unique Implants
"When you go to the shoe store, women's shoes are
shaped and sized differently than men's," says David
Lionberger, MD, orthopaedic surgeon with The
Methodist Hospital in Houston. "That should also be
true of knee replacement implants."
Dr. Lionberger uses a new type of knee replacement specifically pioneered for women. The new Zimmer Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee takes all of these gender differences into account. Based on the average-sized knee of more than 800 women, this implant is narrower from side to side, deeper from front to back and accounts for kneecap tracking, which is different in females.
The knee is made up of three bones: the femur (the end of the thighbone), the tibia (the top of the shinbone) and the patella (kneecap). Each is held together by tendons and ligaments, which are cushioned by cartilage. Injury, infection or arthritis can cause the deterioration of cartilage. When this occurs, the bones of the knee grind against each other, causing severe pain. This is often when a person will seek a knee replacement implant.
"If the majority of knee replacement cases each year are performed on women, it makes sense to have an implant that better suits their anatomy," says Dr. Lionberger. "I believe this implant is a giant step toward giving women more natural movement, better flexibility and a better quality of life."
|
