TKR is an abbreviation of 'total knee replacement'.

Page updated February 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)

TKA - toal knee arthroplasty
In a total knee replacement the joint surfaces of tibia, femur, and often the patella too, are replaced with metal and plastic.

 

What is the difference between a TKR and a TKA?

Really they have come to be interchangeable - TKR means total knee replacement and TKA means total knee arthroplasty. The word 'arthroplasty' means 'refashioning of the joint'.

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How is a TKR performed?

The surgeon uses special jigs to cut away the damaged bone of the femur, and then a commercial implant is usually cemented in to replace what has been removed. 

On the tibial side, the plateau of the tibia, together with any remaining menisci, is removed and replaced with both metal and plastic, the plastic part of which can move.

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Forum discussions

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Peer-reviewed papers

  • Quote:

    "Patient satisfaction is one of the many patient-reported outcome measures...One of the factors most strongly associated with postoperative satisfaction is patient's expectations: unmet expectations result in dissatisfaction. Therefore, it is important for surgeons to reach an agreement with patients on the possible benefits and risks of TKA through extensive discussion and explanation before surgery"

    Citation: Choi YJ, Ra HJ. Patient Satisfaction after Total Knee Arthroplasty. Knee Surg Relat Res. 2016 Mar;28(1):1-15. doi: 10.5792/ksrr.2016.28.1.1. Epub 2016 Feb 29. PMID: 26955608; PMCID: PMC4779800.

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Synonyms: 
total knee replacement
TKA
total knee arthroplasty
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Dr Sheila Strover (Editor)
BSc (Hons), MB BCh, MBA

See biography...