Carolina Medical Center is one of the few centers where knee prosthesis surgery is performed using the latest technology developed by Smith & Nephew. We use prosthesis made of Oxinium, an alloy with the highest biocompatibility known in modern science.
Osteoarthritis of the knee develops as a result of the progress of damage to the cartilage and subchondral structures of the knee joint. It is often called “wear-induced degeneration”, and affects mostly middle-aged and elderly people, but can occur at any age.
The causes of degenerative changes are not fully understood. We know that there are factors that increase the body’s susceptibility to this condition, e.g. obesity, muscle weakness and atrophy, hereditary factors, previous injuries, childhood diseases, repeated movements and finally aging. Complaints related to degeneration can be eliminated with a knee prosthesis
Treatment
There are many non-invasive treatments that can reduce the feeling of pain in the knee and eliminate inflammation — lifestyle changes or drug treatment. Sometimes it is advisable to wear an orthosis to ensure knee stabilization. However, if none of the above treatments give satisfactory results, surgical intervention is necessary.
Depending on the degree of destruction of joint surfaces, the following surgical methods are used:
- arthroscopy – a minimally invasive procedure aimed at cleaning the joint cavity of inflammatory elements and possible repair of damaged cartilage,
- unicompartmental (partial) knee replacement (e.g. ACCURIS),
- total knee replacement (e.g. GENESIS II).
Prosthesis of knee
Carolina Medical Center uses the latest technologies and methods available in the market to treat patients. For knee replacement surgery we use Accuris and Genesis prostheses, made of unique in terms of its parameters material called OXINIUM. It is an alloy of two metals: zirconium (constituting 97.5%) and niobium (2.5%). Both of these metals are highly biocompatible, and therefore very well tolerated by the body. The development of the OXINIUM alloy took over 10 years. This material combines the advantages of ceramics (smoothness) and metal (strength). It is an alloy with a homogeneous molecular structure, however, during implant production, the technique of absorbing oxygen by zirconium is used, which changes its surface from metal to ceramic. As a result, the knee prosthesis becomes extremely hard and indelible, and at the same time resistant to cracking and scratching.
Of the three materials used in modern endoprosthetics, OXINIUM has the highest tolerance by the body (biocompatibility). Although the cobalt-chromium surfaces are very resistant to pressure, over time they come into contact with polyethylene components of the prosthesis, they wear much more than OXINIUM. As a result of the highest surface smoothness, the OXINIUM achieved a reduction in abrasion of approx. 85%. OXINIUM implants can be additionally used in conjunction with a special gliding material, an extremely durable, highly cross-linked plastic.
The ceramic head of the prosthesis, unlike the cobalt-chromium head, has an almost indelible surface, however, it creates other types of danger. Ceramics are very fragile, so ceramic heads can sometimes break as a result of higher loads. As OXINIUM contains metal, this risk has been eliminated. OXINIUM is a solution for people with allergies, especially to metals (including nickel). Thanks to the raw materials used, OXINIUM prosthesis are almost completely nickel-free and thus safe and well-tolerated by the human body.