From the cells in their bodies to their taste in clothes, it’s no surprise that women are different from men. In fact, research shows women and men are different all the way down to their knees.

Even so, knee replacement implants have been designed based on an average size of women’s and men’s knees.

It has been heavily researched that men and women are in fact, anatomically different. But are they so different they require special and customized replacement parts?

Until recently, orthopaedic surgeons chose from an array of standard implants which were designed to fit both men and women patients. However, the statistics show a larger percentage of women need joint replacement surgery. This factor along with recent advances in technology, have sparked the release of gender-specific knee implants, claiming to offer women a “better fit”.

“Women represent two-thirds of patients getting knee replacements and the generic implants in the past were never specifically designed to fit a woman.”

“The distal femur (thigh bone) in a woman’s knee has a distinctly different shape than that of a man’s, a woman’s hip rotation is also different and these differences can be addressed in the implant design. Historically, the success of knee replacement has been linked to improving the way these implants fit the broad range of normal human anatomy, and this is another step in that direction for what is clearly a distinguishable and rather large group of patients.”

“One goal in knee replacement surgery is to pick the implant that fits the patient the best.” “This is done on an individual case-by-case basis. While the gender implant is not a necessity in every case, it does offer additional sizing options and allows the surgeon to use an implant that may be a better fit for the patient’s individual anatomy.”

The bone in the front of a woman's knee is typically less prominent than in a man's. Traditional implants have a thickness in front that may end up making them feel "bulky," which may result in pain and a decrease in range of motion. The Gender Knee has a thinner profile to accommodate this anatomical difference between men and women.

The angle between the hip and the knee affects how the kneecap moves over the thighbone when the knee is in motion. Women have a distinct shape that frequently results in a different angle between the hip and the knee when compared to men. The Gender Knee accounts for this difference, allowing for more natural movement.

TheGender Knee has a contoured shape to more closely match the narrower anatomy of a woman's knee. This contouring provides for a more precise fit and may prevent the implant from overhanging the bone and potentially pressing on or damaging surrounding ligaments or tendons.