What's New

We welcome Dr. Krcik to our practice. Dr. Krcik is returning home to the South Side. He is a graduate of Brother Rice High School and University of Illinois-Chicago. Dr. Krcik’s specialty is in Pediatric / Adult Sports Medicine. We are very pleased to welcome him to our practice and back to Chicago!

See Dr. Krcik’s bio for further information »

Our Specialties Include

• Total Hip and Knee Replacement
• Revision Total Joint Arthroplasty
• Anterior Approach Hip Replacement
• Knee Arthroscopy / ACL Reconstruction
• Partial Knee Replacement
• Hip Resurfacing
• Hip Arthroscopy
• Ankle Arthroscopy
• Shoulder Arthroscopy / Rotator Cuff Repair / SLAP Repair
• Sports Medicine (Sports-Related Injuries)
• Pediatric Sports Medicine / Adult Sports Medicine
• Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Knee and Hip
• General Orthopedics
• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Fracture Care

Knee: Partial Knee Arthroplasty

Remember when simple routine tasks were something you took for granted?

If knee pain is changing your lifestyle, then you need to know this: A large number of people with osteoarthritis of the knee have worn out only one of the three compartments in the knee. If this is the case, the individual may only require a partial replacement. For this reason the Partial Knee Replacement makes a whole or total knee joint replacement not necessary in many cases.

Advantages of a Partial Knee Replacement

• At 15 years following surgery, 95% of implants are still functioning well.
• More normal motion of the human knee.
• Only a portion of the knee is replaced, making this procedure available to a younger population.
• Minimally invasive — a small incision is utilized.
• Less pain due to a smaller operation.
• Outpatient, or one or two nights in hospital.
• Quicker recovery — discontinue crutches as fast as one desires.
• Covered by Insurance and Medicare.

Partial Knee Replacement allows for better range of motion of the knee by virtue of replication of the function of the menisci and allows for more normal motion of the human knee. With the Partial Knee Replacement, only a portion of the knee is replaced. In performing a partial knee replacement, the anterior cruciate and posterior cruciate ligaments are always preserved. In performing a total knee replacement, the anterior cruciate ligament is always removed; sometimes the posterior cruciate ligament is removed as well. In some cases, this prosthesis may be applicable to individuals who were previously considered too young to undergo a total knee replacement. The partial knee replacement techiques utilizes a minimally invasive approach in which patients may experience less pain and a quicker recovery time than experienced with a total knee replacement.

The typical "bowleg" deformity develops when a person gets severe osteoarthritis of the inner portion of the knee. This occurs because when the inside of the knee wears out, the pad, or articular cartilage that wears away may have been as thick as one-half inch before the arthritis began. With this tissue now worn away, the inside of the knee is shorter, so a bowlegged appearance develops. The Partial Knee Replacement corrects the bowleg deformity because the implant gives the patient a new pad with the height of the inside portion of the knee restored to the pre-arthritic state. The picture below shows the bowleg deformity corrected.

To be qualified to implant the prosthesis that Dr. Weber utilizes, the United States Food and Drug Administration requires an orthopedic surgeon to attend a special training course. This training is required because the implantation technique for this procedure is very precise and the operation must be done correctly. Dr. Weber attended one of the first training courses, and he has more experience in this procedure than most every orthopedic surgeon in the United States.

If you have substantial pain in your knee, you should schedule and appointment with Dr. Weber for a complete evaluation of your knee pain problem. Most substantial knee pain problems can be helped or cured by modern orthopedic surgery.