Total Joint Replacement Surgery

In total joint replacement surgery, orthopaedic surgeons remove both sides of a worn knee or hip joint and replace it with an artificial implant, which they anchor to the bone.  The surgery is designed to relieve patients of chronic, debilitating joint pain.

Total joint replacement requires that orthopaedic surgeons surgically remove joint surfaces.  In total hip replacement, this means removing the femoral head and replacing it with a prosthesis.  Total joint replacement of the knee is a resurfacing operation that involves resecting the bone at the joint surface and shaping it so that the prosthesis mimics the natural surface.