Adult Reconstruction Surgery: Which Hip and Knee Problems It Treats and How Care Is Planned

The stairs at the train station are where it usually shows up first. Not on the flat, and not while sitting, but on that third step down, when the knee announces itself with a hot, grinding catch and a hand goes out for the rail. Or it is the sock. Pulling on a sock over a hip that will not bend far enough, one foot balanced on the edge of the bed, breathing through it.

By the time someone types adult reconstruction surgery into a search bar, they have usually already tried the sensible things: a lighter body of activity, a physical therapist, an injection or two, a different pair of shoes. The question is no longer whether the joint hurts. It is whether this joint has reached the point where rebuilding it makes more sense than managing it.

This explainer walks through which hip and knee problems fall under that specialty, what the operations actually involve, who is typically offered surgery and who is asked to wait, and what the weeks afterward tend to look like. It is written to help you ask better questions, not to replace the surgeon sitting across from you.

What is adult reconstruction surgery, really?

The name is older than it sounds. Adult reconstruction is the branch of orthopedics that deals with joints in grown adults that have worn out, broken down or been damaged beyond what the body can repair on its own. In practice, the vast majority of that work involves the hip and the knee, and the signature operation is joint replacement, which surgeons call arthroplasty: removing the damaged surfaces of a joint and resurfacing them with metal, ceramic and medical-grade plastic components.

Replacement is not the whole story, though. The same specialists perform osteotomies (cutting and realigning a bone to shift load away from a worn area), manage complex fractures around the hip and knee, treat infected or loosened implants, and carry out revision surgery, which means redoing a joint replacement that has failed. The word reconstruction covers all of it.

Why a separate specialty? Because the decisions are rarely only technical. A worn knee in a marathon-running 58-year-old, a stiff hip in someone with rheumatoid arthritis on immune-modifying medicine, and a fractured hip in an 84-year-old with heart failure are three entirely different planning problems that happen to end in similar-looking implants. Surgeons in this field spend as much time deciding whether and when to operate as they do on the operation itself.

Mayo Clinic describes the goal of knee replacement plainly: to relieve pain and restore function in a joint damaged by arthritis or injury when non-surgical measures are no longer enough. That framing, relief and function rather than a new joint for its own sake, is the lens through which every decision below should be read.

Which hip problems does adult reconstruction surgery treat?

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. The ball is the top of the thigh bone (the femoral head) and the socket is a cup in the pelvis (the acetabulum). Both are coated in cartilage, the smooth, slightly springy tissue that lets bone glide on bone. When that cartilage fails, the hip becomes the specialty’s most frequent customer.

Osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear form of arthritis, accounts for most hip replacements. The NHS lists it as the leading reason people need the operation, followed by rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that inflames the joint lining and erodes cartilage from the inside. A less familiar cause is avascular necrosis, sometimes called osteonecrosis, in which the blood supply to the femoral head is interrupted and the bone slowly collapses. Long courses of steroid medicine, heavy alcohol use, sickle cell disease and certain injuries are recognized triggers, and it tends to strike younger adults than osteoarthritis does.

Hip dysplasia, where the socket is too shallow from birth and the ball never sits fully covered, wears out cartilage early. Some adults with dysplasia are treated with a realigning osteotomy of the pelvis to save the native joint; others arrive too late for that and are offered replacement. Femoroacetabular impingement, an abnormal bump on the ball or rim of the socket that pinches with movement, sits in the same territory.

Fractures round out the list. A broken hip in an older adult is often treated with a partial or total replacement rather than screws, because the blood supply to the femoral head is unreliable after a break at the neck of the femur, according to Mayo Clinic. Finally, previous implants that have loosened, worn or become infected fall to the reconstruction team as revision cases.

Which knee problems lead to knee reconstruction or replacement?

The knee is a hinge with three compartments: the inner (medial) side, the outer (lateral) side, and the space behind the kneecap. That anatomy matters, because damage is often uneven, and the pattern shapes the operation.

As with the hip, osteoarthritis dominates. The NHS notes that most knee replacements are done for osteoarthritis, with rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions such as gout and psoriatic arthritis making up much of the remainder. Post-traumatic arthritis is a distinct category: a fracture through the joint surface, a torn ligament that left the knee unstable for years, or a removed meniscus can each accelerate wear by a decade or more.

Bone deformity is another route in. A knee that has drifted into pronounced bow-legged or knock-kneed alignment overloads one compartment while the other stays healthy. In a younger, active person, a high tibial osteotomy, which wedges and realigns the shin bone to shift weight toward the good side, can postpone replacement. Where only one compartment is worn and ligaments are intact, a partial knee replacement resurfaces that section alone.

Less common indications include hemophilic arthropathy (repeated bleeds into the joint), knee damage from osteonecrosis, and tumors near the joint where a specialized reconstruction replaces both bone and joint surface. The team also inherits failed prior implants, stiff knees that never regained motion after surgery, and periprosthetic fractures, meaning breaks in bone around an existing implant.

One thing knee reconstruction does not treat well is pain without structural damage. A knee that aches but shows minimal cartilage loss on X-ray or MRI is a knee most surgeons will decline to replace, because the operation removes worn surfaces; it cannot fix pain coming from muscles, nerves or the back.

How total joint arthroplasty actually works, step by step

Total joint arthroplasty is the formal name for a full joint replacement. What follows is the typical sequence, though each surgeon’s technique differs in detail.

Anesthesia comes first. Many centers favor a spinal anesthetic, which numbs the body from the waist down, often combined with sedation and a local nerve block around the joint so that pain is controlled before the first incision. General anesthesia is the alternative, and the anesthesiologist chooses based on your heart, lungs, spine and preference.

For a hip, the surgeon reaches the joint from the back, the side or the front (the anterior approach), each with trade-offs in muscle handling and dislocation risk. The femoral head is removed, the socket is shaped to accept a metal cup with a plastic or ceramic liner, and a metal stem is fitted into the thigh bone with a new ball on top. Components are either pressed in so bone grows into a textured surface or fixed with bone cement.

For a knee, the incision runs down the front. Worn ends of the femur and tibia are trimmed using cutting guides, a curved metal cap goes on the thigh bone, a flat metal tray with a plastic insert goes on the shin, and the back of the kneecap may be resurfaced. Ligaments are balanced so the knee tracks straight. Some teams use robotic or computer-navigated systems to plan cuts; the evidence so far shows more precise alignment without a clearly proven long-term advantage in pain or function.

According to the NHS, both operations usually take between one and two hours. Most people are helped to stand and take a few steps the same day or the next morning, and hospital stays are now commonly one to three days, per NHS guidance, with some healthy patients going home the same day under enhanced-recovery programs.

Who needs knee replacement or hip replacement, and who is usually asked to wait?

There is no age cutoff and no X-ray score that automatically books an operating room. Surgeons weigh four things together: how much the joint hurts and limits daily life, what imaging shows, what has already been tried, and how safely the person can get through surgery and rehabilitation.

People usually offered surgery describe pain that wakes them at night, difficulty with ordinary tasks such as stairs, shopping or getting out of a chair, and a joint that has stopped responding to physical therapy, weight management, activity changes, anti-inflammatory medicine and injections. The NHS frames it as surgery for pain so severe that it interferes with sleep and everyday activities and cannot be controlled by other treatments. Imaging should confirm structural damage that matches the symptoms.

People usually asked to wait, or to prepare first, include:

• Anyone with an active infection anywhere in the body, including a dental abscess or a skin ulcer, because bacteria can seed a new implant.
• People whose diabetes is poorly controlled, since high blood sugar raises wound and infection risk; teams often set a blood-sugar target before scheduling.
• Current smokers, who heal more slowly; many programs ask for a period of abstinence before surgery.
• Those with untreated heart or lung disease, severe anemia or recent stroke, who need medical optimization first.
• People who have not yet had a genuine trial of non-surgical care, or whose pain does not match their imaging.

Body weight is a nuanced case. Higher weight increases surgical risk, and some services use thresholds, yet heavier patients often gain as much relief as anyone else. Good teams discuss risk honestly and support weight management without making surgery conditional on a number alone. In every case the final decision rests with the patient and the surgical and anesthesia teams together.

Hip replacement vs knee replacement: how the two operations and recoveries compare

People often assume that because the implants look similar, the experiences are too. They are not. Hips tend to feel better faster; knees demand more deliberate work on bending and straightening. The table summarizes typical differences drawn from NHS and Mayo Clinic patient guidance.

Feature	Total hip replacement	Total knee replacement
Most common reason	Osteoarthritis, then rheumatoid arthritis, osteonecrosis, fracture	Osteoarthritis, then rheumatoid and post-traumatic arthritis
Operation length (NHS)	About 1–2 hours	About 1–2 hours
Early movement	Standing and walking within a day; some approaches carry short-term movement precautions	Standing within a day; daily bending and straightening exercises begin immediately
Typical return to light daily activities	Around 6–12 weeks (NHS)	Around 6 weeks for many people (NHS); full recovery can take up to a year
Driving (as a guide)	Commonly around 6 weeks, if pain and medicine allow (NHS)	Commonly 3–6 weeks once the knee bends enough and no sedating medicine is used (Mayo Clinic)
Main early challenge	Avoiding dislocation while soft tissue heals; leg-length adjustment	Regaining full extension and bend; swelling and stiffness
Partial option?	Partial replacement mainly used after certain fractures	Partial replacement possible if one compartment is worn and ligaments intact

Two caveats matter. First, these are ranges reported for typical patients, not promises; age, fitness, other illnesses and the state of the joint beforehand shift them in both directions. Second, the honest pattern seen in patient-reported outcomes is that hip replacement more consistently delivers the result people hoped for, while a minority of knee patients report lingering pain or stiffness despite a technically sound operation. That gap is one reason knee candidates are counseled so carefully about expectations.

How care is planned before adult reconstruction surgery

The weeks before the operation are not dead time. They are where a great deal of the outcome is quietly decided, and modern programs treat them as part of the treatment.

Planning starts with a pre-assessment visit. Expect blood tests, a heart tracing, sometimes a chest X-ray, a medication review and a frank conversation about smoking, alcohol, sleep apnea and dental health. Blood-thinning medicines, some diabetes medicines and immune-modifying drugs for inflammatory arthritis may need to be paused or adjusted around surgery; the timing of each change is set by the prescribing clinician and the anesthesia team, never by the patient alone, because stopping the wrong drug at the wrong time carries its own risks.

Imaging drives the technical plan. Standing X-rays show alignment under load. Templating software lets the surgeon size implants in advance. CT scans are used for complex deformity, prior surgery or robotic planning. If a previous implant is being revised, tests to rule out low-grade infection, including joint aspiration, come first.

Then there is prehabilitation, a clumsy word for a sensible idea: strengthening the muscles around the joint, practicing with the walker or crutches you will actually use, and learning the exercises before pain and fatigue make learning harder. Evidence suggests prehabilitation modestly speeds early recovery, though it has not been shown to change long-term function.

Home planning matters as much as anything medical. Who will be there for the first days? Are there stairs? Is the bathroom reachable with a walker? Occupational therapists often review this and suggest a raised toilet seat, a shower chair and a grabber. Enhanced recovery pathways, now standard in many countries, bundle all of this with early eating, early walking and multimodal pain control aimed at minimizing opioid use.

Hip and knee replacement recovery: what the first days and weeks usually look like

Day one is about proving to yourself that the leg still works. A physical therapist will typically have you standing, then taking steps with a walker, within hours of surgery. It feels implausible and then it does not. Pain is managed with a combination of a long-acting local block, anti-inflammatory medicine where safe, acetaminophen-type analgesics and short courses of stronger medicine if needed; the mix and duration are set by the team.

The first two weeks at home are the hardest stretch for most people. Swelling peaks, sleep is broken, and the exercises are tedious. Wound care is simple: keep the dressing clean and dry and follow the specific instructions you were given about showering. Most programs prescribe a blood-thinning medicine or mechanical measures for a few weeks because surgery and reduced movement raise the risk of clots in the leg veins; the type and length are the prescriber’s decision.

Between weeks two and six, the walker usually gives way to a cane and then to nothing. The NHS advises that many people are back to light daily activities around six weeks after a knee replacement and within 6–12 weeks after a hip replacement. Mayo Clinic notes that most people resume normal daily activities three to six weeks after knee surgery. Desk-based work often resumes in this window; physically demanding jobs take longer.

From six weeks to a year, improvement continues in smaller increments. Knees keep gaining bend and the residual warmth and puffiness fade. The NHS is explicit that full recovery from a knee replacement can take up to a year and that some people notice minor discomfort for months. That is not failure; it is the normal arc, and it helps to know it in advance.

Can you overdo walking after knee replacement?

Yes, and it is one of the most common ways motivated patients set themselves back. The instruction to walk early is real, but walking is not the same as marching.

The mechanism is straightforward. A freshly replaced knee is an operated joint with cut bone, disturbed soft tissue and a healing wound. Every step loads it. Reasonable loading stimulates circulation, prevents stiffness and lowers clot risk. Excessive loading produces swelling, and swelling is the enemy of motion: a swollen knee bends less, and a knee that bends less tomorrow is a knee that needs more painful work later. Overdoing it also fatigues the quadriceps, which are already weak, so the gait deteriorates and the risk of a stumble climbs.

How much is too much? There is no universal number of steps, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. The useful signals are your own: pain that climbs sharply during a walk and does not settle within an hour or two afterward, swelling that is noticeably worse by evening than it was the day before, or a knee that is stiffer the next morning than it was the previous morning. Those are signs to trim the duration, not to stop.

Therapists tend to favor several short walks a day over one long one, with the leg elevated and iced between sessions in the early weeks. The exercise program, particularly straightening the knee fully and bending it against gravity, usually matters more for the final result than total walking distance does. Think of walking as the bonus and the exercises as the job. The NHS knee replacement recovery guidance describes exactly this pattern of gradual, progressive increase rather than a target to hit.

How long does it take to recover from anterior hip replacement surgery?

The anterior approach reaches the hip from the front of the thigh, working between muscles rather than cutting through them. The pitch to patients is a quicker early recovery and fewer movement restrictions. The honest evidence is a little more measured.

Studies comparing anterior with posterior and lateral approaches generally find that anterior patients walk unaided and drop their walking aids somewhat earlier in the first few weeks, and that hospital stays can be slightly shorter. By three months, and certainly by a year, differences in pain and function between approaches largely disappear. The approach also has its own hazards: the incision sits near a skin nerve on the outer thigh, so numbness there is more common, and it is technically demanding, which is why surgeons trained in it tend to use it routinely rather than occasionally.

So what does the timeline look like? The NHS puts general hip replacement recovery at roughly 6–12 weeks to return to most normal activities, and that range is a reasonable frame for anterior surgery too, with the earlier end more common. Many people are walking around the house without a cane within two to three weeks, driving around six weeks if not taking sedating medicine, and back to desk work in a similar window. Mayo Clinic notes that most people can resume light activities within several weeks and that improvement continues for months.

Movement precautions differ. Posterior-approach patients are classically told to avoid deep bending and crossing the legs for a period to protect against dislocation; anterior-approach patients are more often cautioned against extreme extension and outward rotation, and some surgeons give no formal restrictions at all. Follow your own surgeon’s instructions rather than a general list, because the risk depends on the tissues that were disturbed.

Why no pillow under the knee after surgery?

Because it feels wonderful, and that is the problem. A pillow tucked behind the knee keeps the joint in slight flexion, which eases the stretch on the front of the knee and reduces the ache. Held there for hours, night after night, it teaches the healing tissues to shorten in that bent position.

The consequence is a flexion contracture, meaning a knee that will no longer straighten fully. Even a small loss of extension is costly. A knee that stops a few degrees short of straight forces the quadriceps to work constantly just to stand, makes the leg feel functionally shorter, produces a limp and loads the kneecap harder. Regaining lost extension later is one of the more painful parts of knee rehabilitation, sometimes requiring intensive stretching or, in stubborn cases, manipulation under anesthesia.

The alternative is to elevate the whole leg with the support under the calf and heel, leaving the back of the knee unsupported so gravity gently pulls it straight. Many therapists also prescribe short sessions of lying with a rolled towel under the ankle for the same reason. Ice and elevation address swelling; the towel addresses extension; a pillow under the knee helps with neither.

The same logic applies after hip replacement in a milder form. Lying with the hip flexed for long periods, whether propped in a recliner or curled on the side, can tighten the hip flexors and leave a residual bend that shows up as a forward-leaning walk. Time spent lying flat or even briefly on the stomach, if the surgeon approves, counteracts it. In both joints the principle is identical: the position you rest in most is the position your joint will learn.

What people often get wrong about joint reconstruction

Myth: you should wait as long as humanly possible. Delaying too long lets muscles waste, deformity progress and the other joints compensate badly. Operating on a severely stiff, weak, deformed knee is harder and recovers more slowly. The right time is when pain limits life despite good non-surgical care, not when you can no longer walk.

Myth: you are too young at 50, too old at 80. Implants now routinely last 15 years or longer according to Mayo Clinic, and revision, though bigger surgery, is a well-established option. At the other end, physiological health matters far more than birth year; a fit 82-year-old may be a lower-risk candidate than a 60-year-old with uncontrolled diabetes.

Myth: a new joint will feel like a normal joint. Most people report far less pain and much better function, yet many notice the knee feels different: a clicking sensation, less sense of exactly where the joint is in space, a patch of numbness beside the scar. Kneeling can be uncomfortable indefinitely.

Myth: the robot does the operation. Robotic and navigated systems position cutting guides; the surgeon makes every decision and every cut. Evidence shows improved alignment precision, not yet clearly better long-term outcomes.

Myth: rest is recovery. After the first few days, controlled movement is the treatment. Prolonged rest breeds stiffness and clots.

Myth: injections and supplements can regrow cartilage. Steroid and hyaluronic acid injections may ease symptoms for a while in some people; stem cell and platelet-rich plasma injections remain unproven for reversing arthritis, and glucosamine has not shown convincing structural benefit in trials. None of them rebuild a joint that has worn through.

Questions to ask your care team before adult reconstruction surgery

A good consultation is a conversation, and the questions below tend to draw out the answers that actually change decisions. Write down the responses; the details blur quickly afterward.

• Given my X-rays and symptoms, do you think surgery is clearly indicated, borderline, or premature, and what would change your view?
• Have I genuinely exhausted the non-surgical options that are reasonable for someone like me?
• Which operation are you recommending, partial or total, replacement or osteotomy, and why that one for my joint?
• Which surgical approach do you use for the hip, and what movement restrictions will I have afterward?
• How many of this specific operation does your team perform, and how do you handle the complications that occur?
• What are the main risks for me personally, considering my other health conditions, and how are you reducing them?
• Which of my regular medicines need to be paused or changed, who will tell me when, and who restarts them?
• What type of anesthesia do you suggest and what are the alternatives?
• How long do you expect me to be in hospital, and what has to happen before I can go home?
• What will pain control look like in the first two weeks, and what is the plan for coming off stronger medicines?
• What clot-prevention measures will I have and for how long?
• What does the physical therapy plan look like, and what milestones should I expect at two, six and twelve weeks?
• When can I realistically drive, return to my specific job and get back to the activities I care about most?
• What signs after surgery mean I should call you, and what number do I call at night or on a weekend?
• If this joint is replaced now, what does that mean for future surgery in twenty years?

You are also entitled to ask for time to think, to request a second opinion, and to bring someone with you. None of those requests should be met with anything other than support.

When to call your doctor after hip or knee reconstruction

Most recovery days are uneventful, and most worries turn out to be ordinary healing. A short list of signs, however, should prompt a same-day call to the surgical team or, where noted, emergency care. The NHS and Mayo Clinic patient guidance on hip and knee replacement highlight the same warning signs.

Call your surgical team the same day if you notice:

• Increasing redness, warmth or swelling spreading around the wound, or fluid, pus or an unpleasant smell from the incision.
• Fever or chills, especially with a wound change or rising joint pain.
• Pain in the operated joint that is getting worse rather than gradually better after the first week, or a new inability to bear weight.
• Calf pain, tenderness, swelling or redness in either leg, which can signal a deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in a leg vein.
• For hips: a sudden severe pain with a feeling that the joint has shifted, a leg that looks shorter or turned oddly, or inability to move it, which may mean dislocation.
• For knees: a sudden loss of the bend or extension you had already regained.
• Numbness or weakness in the foot that is new or worsening.

Call emergency services immediately if you have:

• Sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing up blood or a racing heartbeat, which can indicate a clot traveling to the lungs (pulmonary embolism).
• Signs of stroke such as facial drooping, arm weakness or slurred speech.
• Heavy bleeding that soaks through dressings.
• Fainting, confusion or a fall onto the operated joint.

In the longer term, contact the team if a joint that had settled starts aching again for no clear reason, if you develop a new limp, or if you hear or feel grinding. Late loosening and low-grade infection can appear months or years afterward and are easier to manage when found early. Remember too that a replaced joint can be seeded by bacteria from elsewhere; tell any dentist or doctor treating an infection that you have an implant, and let them decide what precautions are warranted.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most commonly reported problem after knee replacement surgery?

Persistent pain and stiffness are the problems patients report most often, alongside swelling that lingers for months. The NHS notes that some discomfort can continue for up to a year while tissues settle, and a minority of people remain dissatisfied despite a well-positioned implant. Infection, clots and loosening are less common but more serious, which is why new or worsening pain should always be reviewed by the surgical team.

Who needs knee replacement rather than continued non-surgical care?

People whose knee pain disturbs sleep, limits everyday tasks like stairs and shopping, and no longer responds to physical therapy, weight management, medicine and injections, with imaging that shows matching joint damage. Age alone is not the deciding factor. The treating team also weighs overall health, infection risk and readiness for rehabilitation before recommending surgery, and the final decision is shared.

Is total joint arthroplasty the same thing as joint replacement?

Yes. Arthroplasty is the medical term for surgically rebuilding a joint, and total joint arthroplasty means replacing both surfaces of a joint with artificial components. A partial arthroplasty replaces only the damaged section, such as one compartment of the knee. Surgeons use the terms interchangeably in clinic letters, so seeing either word on a referral does not indicate a different operation.

Hip replacement vs knee replacement: which is the harder recovery?

Most people find knee replacement recovery more demanding. Hips tend to feel better quickly once soft tissue heals, whereas knees require weeks of deliberate work to regain full straightening and bend, and swelling can persist for months. The NHS gives around 6–12 weeks for hip recovery and up to a year for full knee recovery, though individual timelines vary widely with fitness and prior joint stiffness.

How long does it take to recover from anterior hip replacement surgery?

Most people return to light daily activities within the 6–12 week window the NHS describes for hip replacement generally, often toward the earlier end. Studies suggest anterior-approach patients walk unaided slightly sooner in the first weeks, but outcomes are similar to other approaches by three months to a year. Driving, work and sport timelines depend on your surgeon’s assessment rather than the approach alone.

Can you overdo walking after knee replacement?

Yes. Too much walking too soon increases swelling, which reduces bend and can set back rehabilitation. Warning signs include pain that does not settle within an hour or two, evening swelling worse than the day before, and a stiffer knee the next morning. Several short walks a day, with elevation and icing between them, usually serve better than one long walk in the early weeks.

Why is a pillow under the knee discouraged after surgery?

Because it holds the knee slightly bent for hours, encouraging healing tissues to shorten into a flexion contracture, meaning a knee that cannot fully straighten. Even a small loss of extension causes a limp, strains the thigh muscles and is painful to correct later. Placing support under the calf and heel instead elevates the leg while letting gravity keep the knee straight.

How long do hip and knee implants last?

Mayo Clinic notes that most modern hip and knee replacements are still functioning well 15 years after surgery, and many last considerably longer. Longevity depends on activity level, body weight, bone quality and implant positioning. When an implant does wear or loosen, revision surgery can replace the worn parts, though it is a larger operation, which is why younger patients are counseled about the possibility.

What are the main risks of hip and knee replacement?

The main risks are infection, blood clots in the leg or lungs, dislocation (hip), stiffness (knee), nerve or blood vessel injury, leg-length difference, fracture around the implant, and later loosening or wear. Anesthesia carries its own small risks. Teams reduce these through pre-surgery health optimization, clot prevention, careful technique and early movement, and your surgeon should explain how each applies to you personally.

What are the alternatives to adult reconstruction surgery for arthritis?

Structured physical therapy, weight management, activity modification, walking aids, bracing, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medicines, and injections such as corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid can control symptoms for many people, sometimes for years. Realigning osteotomy can delay replacement in younger patients. None of these rebuild lost cartilage, and unproven options like stem cell injections should not be presented as a way to avoid surgery.

References

• NHS: Hip replacement
• NHS: Knee replacement
• MedlinePlus: Knee joint replacement

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.