SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Patients hoping to say goodbye to knee pain may be a candidate for a partial knee replacement. Unlike a total replacement, a local doctor says patients can expect a quick recovery.
It’s been six years since Jill Swanson had surgery on her knee for a torn meniscus. The last few years, the pain has gotten worse.
“My kids are active. So even walking from my car to the football field was kind of a struggle and work too. It was, I wasn’t able to, you know, move around as much as I could and really had to be careful,” Swanson said.
Swanson underwent a partial knee replacement in March of 2020, something Dr. Brian Aamlid says is less invasive then a total replacement.
“Typically with a total knee replacement, people might use crutches or a walker for a week or two, and then move to a cane for a few weeks. With partial knees, it seems that they get to using a cane and a day or two, they move through their rehab faster. Their motion comes back faster,” Aamlid said.
Unlike a total knee replacement, he says the surgery is geared towards those with issues including worsening pain from past injuries or progressive degeneration that isn’t responsive to anti-inflammatory medicines.
“Perhaps the nice thing about it, it preserves the anterior cruciate ligament, which allows the knee to feel more like a normal knee afterwards, rather than a bit of a mechanical knee,” Aamlid said.
Swanson’s surgery not only left her knee feeling more normal, but pain-free. And only eight weeks later she was back at work as a nurse.
“I think just actually a few weeks ago I walked three and a half miles and got home and thought, wow, I didn’t even… I didn’t even think about my knee during that three and a half-mile walk. So the pain literally is gone,” Swanson said.
If you’re interested in finding out if you’re a candidate for a partial knee replacement, call your provider.
