Many patients ask if the knee cap (patella) will be replaced during knee replacement surgery. This involves removed the cartilage component of the patella and replacing it with an ultra hard wearing plastic knee cap. This is most commonly cemented to the patella bone. The long term trend in knee replacement in Australia is that knee cap replacement has become increasingly common, from around 30% of knee replacements in 2005 to around 70% of knee replacements in 2023. Dr Daniel Meyerkort routinely replaces the knee cap during knee replacement surgery. Rarely the knee cap may not be replaced in the case of a very young patient undergoing knee replacement.
Reasons to replace the knee cap during Robotic Total Knee Replacement Surgery
- Lower rate of revision (redo surgery). This means that the chance of further surgery after your knee replacement is significantly reduced when you patella is replaced at the time of surgery.
Other factors such as better clinical function and lower pain are intensely debated within the Orthopaedic Literature.