In knee replacement surgery (arthroplasty) a damaged, worn or diseased knee is replaced with an artificial joint.
Knee replacement is a routine operation for knee pain when the knee joint has been severely damaged, most commonly by arthritis. It's as effective and reliable as hip replacement. There are two main types of surgery, depending on the condition of the knee: total knee replacement and half (partial) knee replacement.
More than 70,000 knee replacements were carried out in England and Wales during 2007.
A replacement knee will not last forever, but an artificial knee will probably last at least 10-15 years, depending on how active you are and the type of replacement you have.
As new technology continues to be developed, this figure is likely to increase.
