The Best Knee Replacement Surgeons in Houston

There are many doctors who perform knee replacement in the Houston area, so finding the right surgeon for you can feel overwhelming.

Best Practice Health is here to help. We screen knee replacement surgeons for five criteria. If an orthopedic surgeon meets them all, we certify them for total knee replacement. Fortunately, there are plenty of great surgeons who are Best Practice Certified for knee replacement in Houston.

At the end of this article, we will show you a list of certified knee replacement surgeons to choose from. But let’s start by going over some things you need to know about knee replacement, and the qualities we look for in a joint replacement surgeon. By the end you will have all the information you need to choose the best surgeon for you.

The first thing to consider when looking for your knee replacement surgeon is a doctor’s experience level.

Patient satisfaction with joint replacement surgery is more consistent among surgeons who replace more than 100 joints per year. You also want a surgeon who is well past the learning curve. For us, the ideal surgeon has done over 1,000 knee replacement surgeries in the past and is currently doing at least 100 joint replacements per year.

Knee replacement surgery comes with the risk of infection, long term stiffness, nerve damage, or implant failure. The risk of these complications is less than half in surgeons who do more than 100 joints per year. Because of the possible complications, you want a surgeon who really knows what they’re doing.

You also want a knee surgeon who has the right training. All the surgeons we identified as the best in Houston have all completed a fellowship in joint replacement surgery. That means they have an additional year of training after medical school and orthopedic residency focused entirely on joint replacement. Evidence shows that fellowship training eliminates the learning curve. Remember, you only get one chance to have it done right the first time.

We verify each orthopedic surgeon’s education by checking that they are board-certified, fellowship trained, and actively specialize in joint reconstruction.

So far we have emphasized the surgeon, but knee replacement surgery needs a team, and it has to happen somewhere. Facilities and the people who staff them are important to consider when choosing where to have your surgery.

Although it’s a major surgery, you probably won’t need to spend any time in a hospital for knee replacement. The best way to get it done is through an ambulatory surgery center (ASC). ASC’s eliminate the risk of hospital error and infection, and you can go home the same day of your surgery. The surgeons we certify primarily operate out of ASCs.

We talked about the surgeon and the facility; now let’s get to the surgery itself. Modern best practice for a total knee replacement surgery calls for robotic assistance. Robots have been in use for joint replacement for over a decade, so all the surgeons must be using them, right? That’s not the case.

Robotic assistance ensures you get implants perfectly sized to give you the best possible range of motion. In order to make sure your surgery and recovery are the best they can be, Best Practice Health recommends finding a surgeon who uses a robotic assistant.

Before we give you the list of your top choices in Houston, there are two more thing to consider. Let’s talk about the implants first.

You want your new knee to have a long life, so finding a reliable brand is key. Thankfully, both the U.S. and Australia have joint replacement registries that use data collected from tens of thousands of joint replacement procedures to determine the long-term durability of implants. The Best Practice Health team reviews these registries for the implant.

Knee replacement is a major surgery, and it’s expected to hurt somewhat. But the best way to ensure a short, smooth recovery with lasting relief is for the surgeon to use a muscle-sparing approach. New techniques to spare the quadriceps muscle shorten recovery and can dramatically reduce your expected pain after surgery. We look for orthopedic surgeons who use this technique, or at least those who operate routinely in an ambulatory surgery center as that ensures rapid recovery.

Now you know what we look for in our surgeons. Here’s our list of Best Practice certified orthopedic surgeons for knee replacement in Houston.