How serious is osteonecrosis of the knee?
Because bone cells need a steady supply of blood to stay healthy, osteonecrosis can ultimately lead to destruction of the knee joint and severe arthritis. When osteonecrosis is diagnosed early, treatment may involve taking medications to relieve pain or limiting use of the affected knee.
How is avascular necrosis of the knee treated?
Surgical treatments for avascular necrosis of the knee include: Core decompression, which removes part of the inner bone to reduce pressure and allow blood to flow better to the bone. Osteotomy, which moves and shapes the bone to take stress off the joint.
What happens if avascular necrosis is left untreated?
Untreated, avascular necrosis worsens with time. Eventually, the bone can collapse. Avascular necrosis also causes bone to lose its smooth shape, potentially leading to severe arthritis.
What happens if bone tissue dies?
Avascular necrosis is a disease that results from the temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the bone. When blood supply is cut off, the bone tissue dies and the bone collapses. If avascular necrosis happens near a joint, the joint surface may collapse. This condition may happen in any bone.
What causes bone to die in the knee?
Knee osteonecrosis (osteo = bone, necrosis = death) refers to the condition, in which knee pain results from death of a segment of bone. In knee osteonecrosis, the otherwise normal bone circulation in the knee region is impaired the diminished blood supply causes the bone tissue to die.
What is a dead bone?
Osteonecrosis is bone death caused by poor blood supply. It is most common in the hip and shoulder, but can affect other large joints such as the knee, elbow, wrist and ankle.
When do you know you have bone on bone arthritis?
Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis (aka Bone on Bone) Bone on bone is a common diagnosis when arthritis/osteoarthritis has been present in a knee joint for years. There’s the belief that the patient is now a “perfect candidate for knee replacement surgery” and are encouraged to hold off as long as they can until they can’t deal with…
Is the femur the knobby part of the knee?
Osteonecrosis can affect any bone; however, it is more commonly seen in the hip and the knee. Knee osteonecrosis most commonly affects the medial condyle of the femur which is the ‘knobby’ part of the thigh bone on the inside of the knee.