The Knee Replacement Women Need We all know men and women are different, and in most cases the differences are quite obvious. But you may have never stopped to think how these differences impact the joints and how joint problems are treated. The knees are a primary area in which this difference is significant. More than 450,000 knee replacements are performed in the United States each year, and two-thirds of these knee replacement patients are women. Orthopaedic surgeon Geoffrey Collins, MD, with Center for Orthopaedics, says the number of knee replacement surgeries performed continues to increase each year for several reasons. "The reason for the replacements remains the same -- wear and tear arthritis -- but today people are living longer and more active lives. This is leading to an increased demand for treatment that can help people continue doing all the things they want to do. There is also an increased acceptance of knee replacement surgery. Most people know someone who has had it done." Women are certainly more active later in their lives than they were 20 years ago, but Dr. Collins says women are more reluctant to have knee replacement, even though they actually suffer from more knee pain than men do. "This is changing today, now that we are able to offer a knee replacement designed specifically for women. Male and female knees are not the same, so it's easy to understand that the same knee implant that works well in a man won't provide the same results for a woman. The Journey knee replacement was developed to provide women with a knee replacement ideally suited for their anatomy." Dr. Collins explains that size is naturally one big difference between the knees of men and women. Women's knees are slimmer and the bone in the front of a woman's knee is typically less prominent. "Traditional knee implants, which were designed for use in men, might cause women's joints to feel too bulky, causing pain and decreased function. A gender-specific knee implant is thinner in the front than a traditional component, so it more appropriately fits the natural female anatomy." Women's knees are also narrower from side to side and have a more trapezoid shape than a man's knees. "A traditional implant that fits a woman's knee from front to back often will be too wide from side to side, which might cause pain. A gender-specific component is proportionally contoured to the entire bone to provide a more precise fit," says Dr. Collins. In addition, he says that male and female knees have different angles of tracking. The angle between the hip and the knee affects how the kneecap tracks over the thigh bone when the knee is in motion. Women tend to have a different angle than men because of their knees' specific shape and contour. "In the past, implants were designed based on an average between the size of women's and men's knees. A gender-specific knee replacement duplicates the different tracking angle and allows the joint to function more like a woman's natural knee." Although knee replacement technology has improved greatly since its introduction 35 years ago, it has only been in the past year that gender-specific implants became widely available. Dr. Collins says the key to knee replacement success has always been dependent on the fit of the implant. "In the past, we had to shape the patient's bone to fit the implants. This could be challenging, particularly with female patients. Now, the implants are designed to allow for fewer intraoperative adjustments and improved implant fit. Recent advances in computer navigation and instrumentation also give us more precise control on positioning and alignment. Less invasive procedures require shorter hospital stay and lead to a faster recover time with fewer complications. Basically, there's never been a better time for a woman to have knee replacement surgery." For more information about gender-specific knee replacement, call the Center for Orthopaedics in Lake Charles at 721-7CFO or in Sulphur at 626-2529.