Hundreds of thousands of knee replacement surgeries are done every year. About two-thirds of the patients are women and, until now, there was a gender gap in the OR.
Annie Beylerian is making medical history. She’s one of the first to receive a revolutionary new knee implant specifically designed for women. “I couldn't walk," she says.
Dr. Michael Kelly, who helped design the new “gender solutions” knee, says it's shaped more like a woman's natural knee.
He says, "Women have a little different makeup in their knee’s anatomy than men do. If we were to look at that, they’re a little bit taller and they are a little bit narrower.”
A traditional implant is often too wide for a woman. The result can be pain and decreased function. The new gender-specific implant is designed for a better fit.
Dr. Kelly says, "You can see a very nice contour here. There’s a little bit different angle in the way the kneecap slides in and a little bit smaller amount of metal here, all to keep the patella-femoral mechanics. Or in plain terms, how your kneecap functions when you go up and down the stairs, or arise from a seat or drive a car.”
Replacement knees have been available in different sizes for years. This time it's the shape that counts.
Dr. Kelly says, "We went to right and lefts, which became even better than the symmetric knees which was one size kind of fit all and you figure out surgically how to correct it. But now this is just one step further.”
Dr. Kelly says that, for the moment, the gender solutions knee comes in one size. By the end of summer, it should be available in several sizes. continue reading ...
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