Hip and knee replacement surgery involve replacing the worn-out bone and cartilage lining your hip or knee joint with new implants that are composed of materials such as ceramic, metal and plastic. The materials used for hip and knee replacements are quite similar.

This video shows a hip replacement surgery where the surgeon uses the mini-posterior approach – accessing the joint from the back of the hip. You will see what takes place before, during and after surgery.

This video shows a hip replacement surgery where the surgeon uses the anterior approach – accessing the joint from the front of the hip. You will see what takes place before, during and after surgery.

During knee replacement surgery, damaged bone and cartilage is resurfaced with metal and plastic components. In unicompartmental knee replacement (also called "partial" knee replacement) only a portion of the knee is resurfaced. This procedure is an alternative to total knee replacement for patients whose disease is limited to just one area of the knee.

Arthroplasty means the surgical repair of a joint. Orthopaedic surgeons performing an arthroplasty use metal and/or plastic parts to reconstruct degenerative, damaged, or arthritic joint surfaces in patients with severe arthritis who have failed nonsurgical treatment and have disabling function, limitation of activities of daily living, and severe pain.

This animation explains total knee replacement, a surgical procedure in which parts of an arthritic or damaged knee joint are removed and replaced with a metal, plastic or ceramic device called a prosthesis.