Knee injuries (orthopaedics)
On this page you will find more information about common knee injuries that can be treated surgically by orthopaedic surgeons.
Plan your appointment
Some common procedures and their treatment:
You can contact our specialists for very different knee problems. We can distinguish the causes of knee pain based on a comprehensive examination and imaging.
There is a big difference between knee pain that acute arises after an accident, for example, and on the other hand complaints that are rather chronic due to wear and tear. Patients who get knee pain during sports, wake up at night with pain or have starting problems are often dealing with complaints due to wear and tear of the knee. Acute complaints include pain after a rotational movement, sagging of the knee or blocking problems.
Knees prosthesis
A knee replacement is placed to:
- relieve you of pain;
- make the knee joint move better, although there are limits to this because of the thickness of your thigh, the swelling of the knee, and the prosthesis itself, among other things.
The worn ends of the thighbone and the tibia are replaced by metal prosthetic parts. In between is a plastic disc that maintains tension between the prosthetic parts and reduces friction. Sometimes there is only wear on a limited part of the knee joint. Then a partial (half) prosthesis may be placed.
There are several methods that our hospital offers when placing a knee replacement. Usually this is done using conventional instruments, but this is always considered individually per patient which method will give the best result.
Knees replacement with robotic surgery
A knee replacement can also be placed using an innovative robot (Navio®). With this, Sint-Trudo Hospital was the first hospital in Belgium where this robot is operational. The robot helps the surgeon to place the total knee replacement with such precision that it is optimally attuned to the natural position of the knee and the needs of the patient in the treatment of osteoarthritis. This relatively new technique allows us to place a prosthesis that takes into account both the bony structures and the soft tissues (tendons, ligaments) of the original knee. Even in younger patients, the robot can be used for less invasive interventions such as half knee replacements, in order to place them with great precision.
Arthroscopy knee
An arthroscopy (keyhole surgery) is a surgical procedure in which the surgeon can look inside the knee joint by means of a small camera in order to make a correct diagnosis and treat the problem in the knee joint. To perform the procedure, a minimum of two openings of about 5 mm on average are required to insert the camera into the joint and possibly also instruments used during the procedure. A video camera mounted on the lens allows the surgeon to see the inside of the joint on a monitor.
A keyhole surgery of the knee is indicated when there are lesions in the joint at the level of the cartilage, meniscus, mucous membrane, cruciate or other ligaments or a combination of several lesions.
