Total Knee Replacement for Women

The Shape of Things to Come:

New Knee Replacement Shaped to Fit a Woman’s Anatomy

Golden, Colorado – The Zimmer Gender Solutions™ High-Flex Knee, the first knee replacement shaped to fit a woman’s anatomy, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The implant’s goals include alleviating knee pain and restoring mobility, while offering fit and function that is optimized for the characteristics more commonly seen in female patients.

Dr. Mark Mills, of Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center in Golden will be one of the first physicians in Colorado to utilize this new implant, which will be available in July.  “Knee implants have been functioning very well for men and women, but to be able to meet women’s unique needs by using knee replacements that feel, fit and function more natural will be even better. There are certain anatomical differences commonly seen in women that necessitate the need for a gender specific implant,” says Dr. Mills who currently performs over 200 knee replacements each year. 

Nearly two-thirds of the more than 400,000 annual knee replacements are women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the numbers continue to increase each year. Research shows that while both men and women vastly underuse knee replacement, women are three times less likely than men to undergo the procedure, although they suffer from more knee pain and resulting disability. Dr. Mills states “less invasive procedures are helping patients get back to their lives faster than ever before and now that there is a knee replacement shaped to fit women’s anatomy, I expect far more women will want to consider knee replacement.”