There are multiple signs and symptoms which decide about the time of surgery but the most important symptoms are when u have pain in your knee due to cartilage damage. Which is not relieving with other mode of treatment and you have to take pain killers every day. So, this is the right time to think for surgery rather than continuing with the pain killers for a longer duration.

Yes, you must try all means of Non-Operative Treatment to postpone the surgery like

• Analgesics (SOS) and Anti-Inflammatory medications for specified
• Try for Weight loss to reduce the weight of the body on the knee.
• Aggressive quadriceps strengthening exercise.
• Steroid injections
• Hyaluronic Acid injection
• Must rule out other causes of knee pain.

Postponing Total Knee Replacement for longer duration may affect your Gait Pattern (Your Walking Pattern), Spine and ultimately your quality of life.

Unnecessary delay in surgery may lead to surgery becoming complex with sometimes costlier and less favorable outcome.

First of all, get consultation with your Orthopaedic Surgeon and get yourself thoroughly investigated to rule out other causes of knee pain. Once all decided, you must start quadriceps strengthening exercise and try for weight reduction and before you go for knee replacement surgery.

Knee Replacement Surgery means balancing of your knee ligaments and making your knee alignment correctly by cutting and removing damaged cartilage and osteophytes (new bone formation) and replacing them with new metal and plastic components. The total time taken for surgery for one knee is approx. 1 hour.

There are different type of metals and plastic are used for this purpose.

Metals like- Cobalt-chrome, Oxynium, Titanium, gold plated etc.

Plastic- Highly crossed link polymer.

In normal condition, once you are evaluated by the doctor and found to be fit for surgery, you need to get admitted to the hospital one day prior if the surgery is planned in morning, on the day of surgery if the surgery is planned in second half of the day. After surgery, you need to stay in the hospital for at least 2 days.

Average hospital stay is 3-4 days for 1 knee replacement.