If non-surgical treatments for knee arthritis don’t help with your pain and tests show that you have knee osteoarthritis, surgery might be a good option. The main type of surgery for knee osteoarthritis is knee replacement surgery. This can be either a partial knee replacement or a total knee replacement.

The knee is made up of three parts, or “compartments”:

1. Medial Compartment (inside of the knee)
2. Lateral Compartment (outside of the knee)
3. Patellofemoral Compartment (in front of the knee, under the knee cap)

Sometimes, knee osteoarthritis affects only one of these compartments, most commonly, the medial one. The lateral compartment can be affected too, but this is less common.

Types of Knee Replacement Surgery:

1. Partial Knee Replacement: This surgery replaces just the affected compartment of the knee. For example, if only the medial compartment is damaged, only that part will be replaced. The important ligaments in the knee, known as the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, are left in place during this surgery. This means that more of your own knee remains intact.
2. Total Knee Replacement: This surgery replaces all three compartments of the knee. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments are removed during this procedure. We use a metal cap on the end of the thigh bone and shin bone, and a plastic insert between. We also use a plastic insert behind the knee cap. Metal is never rubbing against metal.

In summary, partial knee replacement keeps more of your own knee parts, while total knee replacement replaces everything in the knee joint.