With age, the mobility and flexibility of the knee joint reduces significantly. This can affect one’s lifestyle as simple activities such as walking or lying down become painful and difficult. Moreover, there is the emotional stress resulting from an inability to perform routine activities smoothly. In short, any serious problem of the knee joint can affect your ability to function well.

Apart from medications and exercise, the only way to permanently treat such problems in the knee is to go for a joint replacement surgery. The Subvastus approach is often considered to be the best form of knee replacement for a number of reasons.

Subvastus Knee Replacement
Here is a look at the step-by-step procedure for performing a subvastus total knee replacement surgery.

• An 8-10 cm long incision is made on the knee.
• The thigh muscles are left intact and the knee joint is accessed from below the quadriceps.
• The bones in question are cut into place without actually separating them
• The kneecap is pushed to the side and is generally left intact in the subvastus approach.

Advantages of Subvastus Knee Replacement
This form of surgery is greatly preferred over the conventional knee replacement surgeries. Its benefits include-

Minimally invasive– A very small incision is made for the surgery (8-10 cm), which means that the risk is lower. Comparatively, in conventional knee replacement, the incision is around 20-25 cm.

No trauma to muscles– In subvastus approach, the muscles are not cut in order to get to the joint. Instead, surgeons simply bypass the quadriceps and get to the joint from a different angle. This ensures that muscle integrity is intact.

Quicker recovery– Since the incision being made is smaller and since the muscles are not cut into during the surgery, patients recover much faster in case of subvastus knee replacement. Patients will be able to walk within 2 weeks of the surgery and resume normal life in just 2-3 months.

Full bend to the knee– Care is taken during the surgery to ensure that the implanted joint achieves a full bend from the very outset of recovery.

Given the advantages, If you are eligible for the subvastus knee replacement surgery, opt for it.