Knee arthroplasties

Abstract

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018. All rights reserved. Total knee arthroplasty is an operating procedure in which the knee is replaced with an artificial joint. This is one of the most common operating procedures in orthopedics today. Performance of these procedures requires knowledge of the anatomical features of the joint, the biomechanical characteristics of the implant, complications that can occur after installing them, and the solutions to those complications, as well as the needs of particular patients with their unique pathological and physiological characteristics. Lengthening of patients' lives, as well as increased requirements in terms of activities, have spurred the development of new concepts regarding endoprosthesis and biomaterials that allow for significantly longer survival of the implant and contribute to a reduction in the number of unwanted reactions. There is a global trend towards an increasing number of knee arthroplasties that follows the trend of an increasing number of complications with the widest range of modalities in which they occur. Both of these trends spurred the development of different implants.