This is an interview with Dr. D. Whitney Frost, MD, an Orthopedic Surgeon at The Everett Clinic. For a full biography of Dr. Frost, please visit: http://dwhitneyfrost.everettclinic.com/.
Knee problems are universal. You know, almost nobody gets through life without tweaking their knee in one-way or another. A lot of it can be handled without an operation. Once you've torn something, though, you might need surgery.
There are various ligament tears, meniscus tears, dislocating kneecaps, and things like that that we can repair arthroscopically. Some things will require more of an open procedure to fix, these knees, especially in older people, are simply worn out. In that case you don't need something rearranged or taken out, you need something put back on. It's called a joint surface and that's called a knee replacement.
For more information on The Everett Clinic Orthopedics Department, please visit: http://www.everettclinic.com/Specialties/Orthopaedics.ashx?p=904.
