Our Services / Joint Replacement

What is joint replacement?

Joint replacement surgery removes damaged bone and tissue and replaces them with artificial implants. In podiatry, ankle replacement is the most common joint replacement surgery.

The ankle (tibiotalar joint) is the meeting place between the bottom of your tibia (shinbone) and the top of your talus foot bone. Sprained and fractured ankles are common sports injuries. Wear-and-tear can catch up with you later in life, causing chronic (long-term) joint pain.

Joint replacement surgery helps when other treatments for ankle pain aren’t available or don’t work.

Why might I need joint replacement surgery?

You might need joint replacement surgery for a severe trauma, like a crush injury that destroys the ankle joint. In most cases, the Adler Foot and Ankle team provides joint replacement to patients with foot and ankle arthritis.

The many arthritis conditions have different causes but similar effects. For example, osteoarthritis develops after years of walking and standing that wears away the protective cartilage coating the ends of a joint’s bones. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by a flaw in your immune system that makes it destroy healthy joint cells.

Both conditions cause throbbing, aching pain that makes the affected joints hot and swollen. Joints often distort and gradually become stiffer and weaker. You might have trouble standing, walking, and caring for yourself if you have severe ankle arthritis.

In the disease’s earlier stages, the Adler Foot and Ankle team can help you manage arthritis with:

• Pain medication
• Custom-fitted orthotics (prescription shoe inserts)
• Physical therapy
• Corticosteroid injections
• Bracing

They might recommend ankle replacement surgery if you still experience severe symptoms that disrupt your daily life.

What happens during joint replacement surgery?

Your operation will likely take place under general anesthesia. This causes you to sleep, so you don’t feel pain during the procedure.

After cleaning the surgery site, Dr. Adler makes an incision through the ankle’s skin and soft tissue. She removes the damaged cartilage from the tibia and talus sections, then attaches new metal joint surfaces to the remaining healthy bones.

Dr. Adler might use a medical cement to hold the bones and implant in position. She’ll also insert a piece of plastic between the new joint spaces, ensuring they can glide easily over one another.

After surgery, you’ll need to wear a splint and boot for several weeks. Patients quickly notice improved pain and motion with this procedure and this has been a life changing surgery for many patients.

Call Adler Foot and Ankle today or book an appointment online to learn how you can benefit from joint replacement.