Knee Osteotomy - Understanding The Pros & Cons Of It!

Our knee is one of the most important parts of our body which helps us to walk, run and do many other physical activities in which we indulge everyday. But it is also very much vulnerable to damage. People who suffer from Arthritis or other knee problems need to undergo different kinds of surgery to come back to normal lifestyle. If your doctor has recommended you to undergo a knee osteotomy then make sure you read this article to know what it is, the advantages and disadvantages it has.

What is Knee Osteotomy?

Knee Osteotomy is a medical procedure which involves the cutting of the bone to correct the alignment of the knee and thus consequently improving its overall function. Another major aim of the procedure is to reduce the chronic arthritis which is caused due to knee pain. Knee osteotomy at times eliminates the need for a knee replacement and that is very crucial for many patients especially for the elderly.

Knee osteotomy is a very advantageous procedure for those patients who suffer from unilateral knee arthritis which means that the damage has been only on one side of the knee joint. The surgery helps to divert the weight from the damaged area of the knee to the healthy side of it so that the knee can function once again without much further damage.

The two major types of knee osteotomy includes - high tibial osteotomy and femoral osteotomy. Both the surgery have their own set of features and advantages depending on the patient's needs and condition.

Advantages of Knee Osteotomy - Knee osteotomy surely has a particular set of advantages because of which doctors recommend the surgery. Here are the most important advantages of the same.

● In the process of osteotomy, the actual knee joint including ligaments, is wellpreserved.

● Better than knee replacements in many of the cases in which doctors have to completely remove the knee to help the person suffering.

● Knee osteotomy allows patients to return to high intensive physical activities without any problem which is not possible in a knee replacement case. So as you can see that knee osteotomy is preferably much better than replacement if the person who is suffering wants to get back to high intensity tasks after surgery.

Drawbacks of Knee Osteotomy - Knee osteotomy also has a certain set of disadvantages associated to it. Let us have a look at them as well:

● Osteotomy requires more healing time

● One needs to use crutches for a couple of weeks during the healing period

On the whole an osteotomy which is joint preserving is however more beneficial in the long run as compared to replacing ones joint.