If you follow healthcare news, you may have seen headlines recently about the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ new guidelines for surgical treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. These guidelines focused primarily on total knee replacement, which is the most commonly performed procedure used to treat osteoarthritis of the knee, and you may be wondering how they will effect the treatment recommendations you receive.
The new clinical practice guideline put out by the AAOS underscores the benefits of using total knee replacement to improve motion and relieve pain caused by osteoarthritis of the knee in adult patients. New research reconfirms our understanding of osteoarthritis of the knee, and the AAOS Committee on Evidence-Based Quality and Value has said that the evidence of good outcomes from the total knee replacement procedure is very compelling.
What the AAOS has done in introducing its new evidence-based guideline is to outline the instances in which surgery is warranted, focusing on diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation for patients suffering from osteoarthritis.
When making decisions about whether to undergo a knee replacement procedure, the AAOS has found strong evidence to back up the following recommendations:
• Reducing patient risk factors, such as smoking and weight
• Treatment with tranexamic acid, which may decrease post-op blood loss and transfusions following total knee replacement
• Starting rehabilitation the same day the total knee replacement is performed
If you’re interested in learning more about the new Clinical Practice Guideline, I recommend reading the AAOS report in full: Surgical Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee. Although the report is not intended to stand alone, it can be a great resource for patients who are interested in learning more about total knee replacement surgery.
To schedule an appointment and learn more about total knee replacement in Redding, please contact Shasta Orthopaedics at (530) 246-2467.