Knee implantation is a surgical procedure involving the replacement of the damaged bone and cartilage of the knee with artificial implants to recreate the surface of the joint. Knee implant components are generally made up of ceramic materials, metal alloys, or strong plastic parts. The surgery carried out for knee implantation is known as arthroplasty. The four main types of arthroplasty are kneecap replacement, partial knee replacement, complex knee replacement, and total knee replacement.

Total knee replacement involves the replacement of the surface of the thigh bone and the shin connected to the knee. Partial knee replacement or uni-compartmental knee replacement, can be performed through a small cut were one side of the knee is affected. Various types of fixation are used in knee implantation to connect knee implants to the bone, these include hybrid fixation, cementless fixation and cemented fixation. In cemented fixation the implants are held in place with a fast curing bone cement such as polymethylmethacrylate. While, in cementless fixation, the implants are press-fit on to the bone so as to augment new bone growth.

According to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) around, 10 percent of knee replacement surgeries in the U.S. are partial knee replacements. Generally, patients who have undergone the partial knee replacement have osteoarthritis in one compartment of their knee. In kneecap replacement only the under surface of the knee is replaced and it is a small joint replacement procedure.

Furthermore, as per National Joint Registry, around 160,000 knee replacement procedures are performed as well as equal number knee joints are replaced, each year in England and Wales. Also, as per Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in the U.S., 226 per 1000 population knee replacement surgery were performed in 2013.

Knee Implants Market Taxonomy:

By Product Type:

Total Knee Replacement

Partial Knee Replacement

Complex Knee Replacement

Kneecap Replacement

By Material:

Ceramics

Stainless Steel

Cobalt-Chromium Alloys

Polyethylene

Titanium Alloys

Others

By End User:

Hospitals

Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Increasing prevalence of arthritis and obesity to support growth of the knee implants market in the near future

North America and Europe account for the major market share in the global knee implantation market. Asia Pacific is expected to witness rapid growth, attributed to the growing population in the age group of 20-65 years, in this region. This growth is supported by development of healthcare infrastructure and increasing availability of healthcare facilities. Growing population and prevalence of bone and joint disorders are also expected to fuel growth of the global knee implant market.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during 2013-2015, around 54.4 million adults in the U.S. (22.7%) yearly suffered from some form of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in 2016 the prevalence of knee arthritis in India was found to be around 28.7% in overall population. Furthermore, as per National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), during 2011–2014, the prevalence of obesity was around 36% in adults and 17% in youth in the U.S.

Growing obese population in emerging economies is expected to boost growth of the knee implantation market. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014, the obese adult population in China was around 6.9% and in India was around 4.9%, and the number is expected to increase rapidly.

Key Players:

Key players operating in the knee implantation market include Zimmer, Stryker, Smith & Nephew plc, Johnson & Johnson, DJO Global, Inc., Exactech, Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, DePuy Synthes, and Arthrex.