Gonarthrosis (Knee Calcification)

The disease, popularly known as arthritis, is a condition that occurs in the joints and progresses with cartilage loss. In fact, there is no lime-calcium accumulation in the joint. This name was given because it appears whiter than normal due to the hardening of the bone tissue under the eroded cartilage on the x-ray.

Wear and loss of joint cartilage causes more load to be carried by the bone. With the loss of cartilage in osteoarthritis, the membrane (synovial tissue) that produces joint fluid also participates in the disease. The fluids that provide lubrication of the cartilage surface begin to be produced less. As it progresses, changes begin in the ligaments and muscles around the joint in the body’s effort to correct the disease, and bone protrusions (osteophytes) form in the joint’s effort to share the load, especially in the edge areas. All these disorders and efforts to correct them cause complaints in the patient. This disease usually begins to appear at older ages, and as it progresses, it causes pain, limitation of movement, and joint deformity. Although it is especially seen in large joints such as knees, hips, ankles, shoulders and lumbar vertebrae, it can also be frequently seen in small joints such as finger joints.

What are the causes of osteoarthritis?

Although many factors that cause osteoarthritis are known, the most common form is osteoarthritis of unknown cause. Genetic factors, previous fractures affecting the joint or its surroundings, rheumatic diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis), joint overload, excess weight, sports injuries, and some professional activities may directly cause osteoarthritis or may also have an effect by accelerating its development.

What kind of complaints occur in osteoarthritis?

The most important finding is pain. Joint pain is often accompanied by stiffness, decreased movement, or increased pain during movement. As the disease progresses, loss of joint movements becomes evident, pain increases, deformity occurs in the joint, and for example, the knee joint begins to bend. It becomes difficult to use the body part where the disease is present, for example, in the presence of advanced osteoarthritis in the hip or knee, walking becomes increasingly difficult.

Is it possible to protect from osteoarthritis?

Although it is not possible to completely eliminate the development of osteoarthritis, some precautions can still be taken. Regular and controlled sports, exercise and avoiding overloading of joints are effective. But perhaps the best way to prevent accelerated development is not to gain weight or to lose excess weight. The best precaution that can be taken to reduce the loads on the joints is weight control.

Is there a cure for osteoarthritis?

In fact, there is no treatment that will fully replace the wear on the cartilage. Treatments are aimed at reducing complaints. For this purpose, painkillers, exercises, physical therapy, intra-articular medications, biological treatments such as PRP or stem cells can be applied. In cases where there is no response to all these, surgical treatments are available.

What are the surgeries?

When osteoarthritis-related complaints negatively affect the patient’s daily living activities and there is no improvement with non-surgical treatments, some surgical options are available. In osteoarthritis that is not very advanced, for example, if there are problems that cause mechanical complaints in the knee joint (such as meniscus tear, free cartilage fragments called joint mice, enlargement of the joint membrane), the joint can be cleaned with the arthroscopic – closed method. This method is not a method that completely eliminates cartilage wear, but is a treatment aimed at relieving complaints. This method is not effective in the presence of advanced osteoarthritis. Again, in the presence of not very advanced osteoarthritis, when the load balance on the joint is disrupted, bone correction surgeries can be performed to ensure normal mechanics of the joint. Thus, the load distribution on the joint is balanced and the progression of the disease is reduced. In the presence of wear in one area of the joint, partial-partial prostheses can be made under certain conditions. These prostheses, made with smaller incisions, have very good results with appropriate patient selection. In the presence of advanced osteoarthritis, total knee prosthesis is performed. Today, the results of total knee prostheses are quite good. Prosthetic surgeries can now be performed with the help of robotic technology. You can find information about knee prostheses under the headings knee prosthesis, partial knee prosthesis, and robot-assisted knee prosthesis.

Knee Replacement Treatment

Knee prosthesis is a corrective surgery that has been performed for many years in cases where the cartilage is worn away (osteoarthritis) or the knee joint is damaged due to some other diseases. With this surgery, the damaged parts of the cartilage are removed in a geometric manner, including a part of the underlying bone, and the damaged axis of the knee joint is corrected and a prosthetic joint made of various metals is placed.

The prosthesis consists of two metal parts and a plastic part between them. Thus, a metal joint that mimics normal knee joint movements is obtained.

Additionally, when only one area of the patient’s knee is damaged, some special conditions may occur.