If you have disabling joint pain despite conservative treatment, joint replacement surgery may be the best way to restore normal movement and return to a pain-free life. When you face that decision, you need the exceptional surgical expertise of Nader Fahimi, MD, and the team at Elite Orthopedics & Sports Medicine. They use today’s most advanced technology, often performing minimally invasive surgery so you can go home the same day. To learn more about joint replacement surgery, call one of the offices in Wayne, Riverdale, or Clifton, New Jersey, or book an appointment online today.
Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the top reasons people need joint replacement surgery. Though not as common, you may also need a joint replacement if you suffer a traumatic injury or develop a condition called osteonecrosis. Osteonecrosis cuts off the blood supply, which causes bone death.
You may need to consider replacing the joint when:
The earlier you seek treatment for joint pain, the better chance you have of preserving the health of your joint for as long as possible.
The team at Elite Orthopedics & Sports Medicine frequently performs joint replacement surgery on the shoulder, knee, and hip joints.
The basic surgical procedure is the same for all joints. Your provider first removes all of the damaged bone and cartilage. Then they restructure the remaining bone and implant a prosthetic joint.
Prosthetic joints consist of metal, plastic, ceramic, or most often, a combination of materials. For example, the components replacing your bones are usually made of metal or ceramic, while plastic pieces replace cartilage.
Your provider may cement some prosthetic pieces into the joint. Others are specially designed to bond with new bone that grows over the prosthetic.
You may have the option of a partial joint replacement, depending on the joint and the extent of its damage. If you qualify for a partial hip or shoulder replacement, your provider only replaces the ball-shaped part of the bone while leaving the socket intact.
The knee joint has three distinct compartments. If arthritis damages just one compartment, your provider replaces that area and leaves the other compartments intact.
