Custom Knee Implant for Total Knee Replacement

Piedmont Orthopaedic Complex is the only facility in Middle Georgia offering the custom knee implant for patients in need of a total knee replacement. With the custom implant, MRI and 3D printing technologies are used to custom-build an implant specifically for your knee. Although not all knee patients are ideal candidates for the ConforMIS™ knee, Piedmont patients who have had the implant report better mobility, less surgical pain and quicker recovery times. You can learn more about the implant below, but we recommend talking with your physician to learn more about your options. You and your surgeon can develop a plan based on your unique situation and your goals and preferences.

ConforMIS™: Designed to match your size and shape for optimal patient fit

Many manufacturers offer a range of “off-the-shelf” sizes, but do not consider individualized shape. The knee is a complex joint. In order to think about the knee in its entirety, we must think about its size, and equally important, its shape. Knees are all distinct in their size and shape and thus so should your implant.

With patient-specific, individualized implants surgeons do not have to compromise on the fit because the implants are designed, prior to surgery, based on your CT-scan data. With off-the-shelf knee implants, surgeons are forced to ultimately compromise in one area or the other because the size and shape is not designed to your specific anatomy, but rather, designed to a standardized size and shape. The off-the-shelf implants require surgeons to make decisions in the OR that may possibly result in having implant over hang (the part is too big for the knee) or implant under-hang (the part is too small and therefore leaving exposed bone) and the compromise this poses for rotational alignment with your joint line. In both these instances it has been documented that these compromises can be the leading cause of residual pain. ConforMIS™ patient-specific implants do not require the surgeon to make compromises on the size and shape because the implant is designed specifically for your size and shape.

The patient-specific, individualized implants allows the surgeon to match your unique anatomy for an optimal fit and preserve your medial and lateral joint line with the potential for a more natural feeling knee.

A Thinner Implant

Due to the individually shaped and sized, patient-specific knee implants, the iTotal incorporates a 6-cut design for a thinner implant, which directly results in bone preservation. A thinner implant results in less bone being cut.

Designed to reduce operating time for optimal efficiencies

By using the ConforMIS™ personalized implant system, we are able to reduce the number of decisions we have to make in the operating room and sterilizing the placement guides. Because the ConforMIS™ implant is designed specifically for you, we do not have to spend time in the OR selecting the off-the shelf size that would be closest to your size. Instead, there is simply only implant for your surgery, your implant. This implant, your implant, simply would not fit another patient.

Designed for single use to reduce risk of contamination

The ConforMIS™ implants come in a pre-sterilized disposable, single-use kit. Disposable, single-use instrumentation is beneficial to you, the hospital the surgeons because it means that the implant AND the placement instruments are used only on you and then discarded by the OR staff. Disposable instrumentation reduces the risk of infection as they are single-use and not used on multiple patients.

Designed for the potential for a more natural feeling knee

Kinematics (or motion) is a word that we like to use that describes the motion of your knee. The motion of your knee and how well it moves is a strong indicator of how natural your knee will feel after surgery. Our goal is to give you the “most natural feeling knee” as we possibly can. We believe that the more an implant mimics the natural shape of your knee, the more likely it is to move more naturally and feel more natural.

Designed to simplify the surgical  procedure

You may not spend much time thinking about the steps of a surgical  procedure, but we do! Over time, surgeons adopt procedures that are designed to improve the efficiency in the OR.  Why should this matter to  you, our patient?  When we spend less time in the OR, it means less time you spend under anesthesia.  The ConforMIS™ personalized implants and instrumentation offer us a simplified approach to knee replacements.  Much of the time saved is due to the pre-sterilization, single-use pre-navigated instruments, designed prior to getting in the operating room. For each surgery we receive a “surgical plan” which works like a map of your knee, showing us what information that typically we can’t see until we are in the operating room.

What to Learn More?

Schedule a consult with one of Piedmont's orthopaedic specialists to learn more about your options and see if you are a candidate for the custom knee implant. Click here or give us a call at 478.474.2114 to get started.