Knee replacements are generally successful operations, providing reliable pain relief and improvement in function. However, the modern knee replacements do not fully reproduce the kinematics of the normal knee joint. For a start, one or both cruciate ligaments have to be removed at the time of knee replacement. The prostheses are designed to compensate and substitute for this, but are not able to fully reproduce the normal kinematics.
The shape of the femur and tibia is different for different people, but all knee replacement implants have the same geometry. Also, the implants only come in 6 or 7 different sizes, which are intended to fit all adults – whatever their body habitus.
With modern, cutting edge technology, there is a solution – Custom made knee implants – where the implant is made for you.
The implant is made from a CT scan of the knee and is manufactured to fit your knee joint as accurately as possible. The manufacturing process takes 7 weeks, and the implant is sterilised and sent over to us. This implant is used for knee replacement, rather then an off-the-shelf implant, and is designed to fit only you and no one else.
Experience with this new technology is gradually building up, and the main difference I see in my patients is a comment –‘my knee feels normal’.
This is because the implant is contoured to match the shape of your knee.
It maintains a high degree of stability throughout the range of movement, which is quite remarkable.