Knee Replacement in Portland, OR

Knee replacement is typically recommended after osteoarthritis or another form of joint damage has progressed to the point where physical therapy, medication, and injections no longer provide meaningful relief. Your surgeon may recommend one of two procedures, depending on how much of the knee is affected.

A total knee replacement resurfaces all three compartments of the knee and is the right choice when arthritis has damaged the joint broadly. A partial, or unicompartmental, knee replacement resurfaces only the damaged portion of the knee, preserving more of your natural bone and ligaments, and can mean a faster initial recovery for patients whose arthritis is confined to one area. Your surgeon will determine which procedure fits your knee based on imaging and the extent of your joint damage.

For many knee replacements, your surgeon may also use robotic-assisted technology, the ROSA and VELYS system, which creates a detailed 3D plan of your knee before surgery and guides precise, personalized placement of your implant. If you're still earlier in the conversation about whether surgery is the right step, your care team at Orthopedic + Fracture Specialists(opens in a new tab) can walk you through your full range of options.

What to Expect Before, During & After Surgery

Before Your Surgery. In the weeks leading up to your procedure, you'll have a pre-operative appointment where your surgical team reviews your health history and gives you specific instructions on medications to pause beforehand, nutrition, and how to prepare your home for your return, including clearing walkways of clutter and rugs and arranging a walker for your first days home.

The Day of Surgery. Please follow the arrival time and check-in instructions provided by your care team. When you arrive, our staff will check you in and guide you through the next steps.
Both your surgeon and your anesthesiologist will speak with you before you're taken back to one of our five operating rooms. Our physician anesthesiologists are trained in nerve block techniques that numb the leg for hours afterward, reducing how much narcotic pain medication you'll need in the first day or two.

After Your Procedure. You'll move to a recovery area staffed by a dedicated nurse, who watches your vitals and helps manage pain as the anesthesia wears off. A physical therapist typically begins working with you within hours of your surgery, helping you safely stand and take your first steps, often the same day. Many knee replacement patients are cleared to go home once they can move safely in and out of bed, walk a short distance with an assistive device, and have a caregiver arranged to help at home for the first few days.

Recovering From Knee Replacement

Your recovery plan will depend on your procedure and individual needs. Your surgeon will provide detailed instructions about activity, physical therapy if needed, and returning to work or sports. Before you leave Center for Specialty Surgery, our team will review your discharge instructions and answer questions about your immediate recovery.

Early, consistent movement is one of the most important parts of recovering from knee replacement. Your surgeon or physical therapist will show you when to start gentle exercises within the first days after surgery, including knee extension, lying down with a towel roll under your foot and letting the knee relax straight for a few minutes at a time, and knee flexion, sitting in a chair and slowly scooting forward to gently bend the new joint further. These are usually done several times a day, alongside frequent short walks.

For a period of time your surgeon determines, you'll also want to stay active with ankle pumps and walking to help prevent blood clots, a real risk after lower-body joint surgery. Call your surgeon's office right away if you notice new or worsening swelling, redness, or pain in your calf. Formal physical therapy, available in the same building through the team at Orthopedic + Fracture Specialists(opens in a new tab), plays a central role in regaining full motion and strength. For a closer, day-by-day look at recovery, visit How We Get You Home.

Understanding the Risks

Like any surgery, knee replacement carries real risks, and we think you deserve a straightforward answer about what those are. Possible risks include infection, bleeding, a reaction to anesthesia, blood clots, nerve or blood vessel injury, stiffness that occasionally requires additional treatment, and, in some cases, the need for a future revision surgery as an implant wears over time.

We take these risks seriously. Center for Specialty Surgery tracks infection and complication rates every quarter and reports them publicly, rather than keeping that information internal. Our physician anesthesiologists also use nerve block techniques to manage pain with less reliance on narcotic medication, which carries its own risks of dependency and side effects.

If you have specific concerns about how your health history might affect your surgical risk, that conversation is best had directly with your surgeon.

What Knee Replacement Costs

Knee replacement is billed through your medical insurance, the same way it would be at a hospital, through your surgeon's office, our facility, and your anesthesia provider separately. Having three separate bills can be confusing at first: our facility fee covers the operating room, supplies, and nursing care, while your surgeon's fee and your anesthesia fee are billed on their own.

We accept most major insurance plans; visit our Insurance page for the full list. If you have questions about your specific coverage or estimated cost, our billing team can walk you through what to expect before your surgery date.

Our Safety and Quality Standards

Center for Specialty Surgery was among the first ambulatory centers in the region to offer robotic-assisted knee replacement, and we've been performing joint replacement surgery since 2003, accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and certified by Medicare. Our infection and complication rates are tracked every quarter and reported publicly, and we've been recognized among Newsweek's Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers in Oregon in 2025, 2026, and 2027.