Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Barry Waldman MD on Knee Replacement Surgery


Barry Waldman MD has over 17 years of experience in orthopedics. 


As an orthopedic surgeon with OrthoMaryland, Waldman specializes largely in joint replacement and reconstruction of the hip, shoulder, and knee. 

Knee replacement surgery has become quite common these days, given that arthritis is a major ailment among aged people. Below, Barry Waldman MD provides details of his experiences with knee replacement surgery. 

Knee Replacement Surgery Barry Waldman MD


What is knee replacement surgery?


As the name suggests, knee replacement surgery involves removing whole or part of the knee joint and putting artificial joints in place of the worn out parts. The artificial joints are made up of plastics and metals. The recovery time of this surgery lasts a few months but its benefits last for many years, to a lifetime. 

So how would you know when to get a knee replacement surgery done? There are certain symptoms listed below.

  • If you start getting severe pain in the knees that hampers your routine activities.
  • If you get severe or moderate knee pain while taking rest, either during the day or at night.
  • If you suffer from inflammation and swelling of the knee for a long time that does not heal with medications or rest.
  • If you are suffering from bowing of leg
  • If you are suffering from knee stiffness
  • If you do not get relief from using Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory Drugs (or NSAIDs) or you cannot tolerate the pain.


Let us now look at the procedure of the knee replacement surgery. The surgical procedure may differ depending on the surgeon’s approach and the needs of the patient. Generally, orthopedic surgeon Barry Waldman MD follows these steps:


  • Certain mandatory checks before proceeding for a surgery are done. Body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and oxygenation level are checked to see whether they are normal and surgery can proceed. A mark is made on the knee which is to be operated.
  • The patient is given anesthesia. It can either be general (which puts the patient to sleep) or regional (whereby the sensation of a part to be operated is blocked).
  • An incision is made at the center of the knee, deeper into the tissues including quadriceps tendons.
  • The surgeon bends the knee to ninety degrees to have better access to the joint.
  • A bone saw is used to remove the damaged part/s of the knee and all the bones are reshaped to fit the new prosthesis. To make the cuts precise, a surgeon uses some metal jigs or take computer’s assistance.
  • An implant might be attached to the patella (backside of the kneecap) and then it is glided against the artificial joint. At times a polyethylene substance is attached to the patella to facilitate the process.
  • Sometimes femur, tibia and patella are attached with some components. The type of the components will decide how they are going to be attached. Both cement less and cemented components can be used and both of them have their own set of advantages.
  • A polyethylene cushion is placed over the top of the new surface of the tibia. It is put between the prosthetic surfaces to absorb any shock.
  • The knee is straightened to bind the components, bone and cement together.
  • If deep tissues were cut during the surgery, then they are repaired.
  • In the end, the skin is stitched at the surgical incision.
For more information about knee replacement surgery, connect with Barry Waldman MD on Expertfile: http://expertfile.com/experts/drbarryj.waldman.

Check out the video of Barry Waldman MD below for further information about custom knee replacement techniques. 


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