Single knee surgery, or double knee surgery? Which surgery would be best for me?

Town&country Orthopaedics (26)

If you are finding that pain and issues in both of your knees are problematic, and impacting your ability to do the things you love, it may be recommended to have both of your knees undergo replacement.

There are really two options for this:

  1. Staged knee replacement – where the worst is done first, and the knees are replaced separately with time in between for recovery and rehabilitation
  2. Bilateral/double (both side) knee surgery – where both knees are replaced at the same time.

Like all medical management – there are risks and benefits to both these operations.

STAGED SINGLE KNEE REPLACEMENTS

PROS

  • The staged approach allows your first knee replacement to fully recover before you undertake the second
  • The surgeries are conducted months apart, giving you time to rehabilitate and have a “good knee” to use when rehabilitating your other
  • Shorter visits to the hospital
  • Reduced risk of complications

CONS

  • The overall rehabilitation process can be much longer
  • Total time spent recovering is longer as there are two operations to recover from – normally 3 months between each knee replacement
  • In between operations, your second knee that has not yet been replaced will need to work harder, which will be difficult if it is in poor condition
  • Higher cost
  • More time off work

DOUBLE KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY

PROS

  • Less total time spent in hospital
  • One rehabilitation period is faster overall
  • One stay in hospital
  • One dose of anaesthesia
  • Less total time off work

CONS

  • Because the surgery and anaesthesia is prolonged, there is a slight increase in complications. However, these are uncommon
  • It is not recommended for patients with heart or lung disease, or those patients over the age of 70
  • Stay in a rehabilitation centre afterwards is more likely
  • Longer surgery time
  • More painful recovery

It is important to have the best information and seek guidance from your surgeon as to what is right for you.

Contact us today to discuss your options in treament