Knee Surgery in Perth

Dr Rhys Clark is a Perth orthopaedic surgeon whose practice is knee replacement first — robotic-assisted total and partial knee replacement, and revision surgery for replacements that have failed — alongside the rest of knee surgery, including ACL reconstruction, meniscus surgery and arthroscopy.

Appointments at either consulting location: (08) 6332 6365.

Knee replacement

A knee replacement resurfaces the worn ends of the thigh bone and shin bone, and usually the undersurface of the kneecap, with metal components separated by a medical-grade polyethylene insert. It is an operation for arthritis that has stopped responding to everything else — and there is usually a good deal to try before it, which is why non-surgical treatment and Do I need a knee replacement? are the better starting points if you are not yet sure.

Three operations cover most arthritic knees:

• Total knee replacement — the operation most people mean by a knee replacement, for arthritis affecting two or more compartments of the knee.
• Partial knee replacement — for arthritis confined to one compartment. Less bone removed, generally quicker recovery, but it suits a narrower group of knees.
• Knee revision surgery — for a replacement that has loosened, worn, become infected or failed.

Knee replacement in Perth covers the total knee operation in full: what is involved, the days in hospital and going home.

If you are comparing the first two, Partial vs Total Knee Replacement explains how the decision is made — the arthritis pattern, ligament function, deformity, stiffness and what the knee needs to do.

Two further questions come up often enough to have pages of their own: both knees together or one at a time, and how the knee is actually opened — subvastus, quad-sparing, the tourniquet, and how to read a branded technique.

Robotic assistance

Dr Clark uses robotic assistance for total and partial knee replacement, on two systems. Mako (Stryker) is planned in advance from a CT scan taken before surgery, so implant size and position are decided before any incision is made. VELYS (DePuy Synthes) is imageless and maps the knee in theatre, so no planning CT is needed. In both cases the robot guides bone preparation and implant placement while the surgeon performs the operation.

Where Dr Clark consults

• Knee replacement at Murdoch — St John of God Medical Clinic, Suite 10, 100 Murdoch Drive, on the same campus as the hospital where the surgery is performed.
• Knee replacement in Mandurah — SJOG Consulting Rooms, 117 Anstruther Road, for patients across the Peel region, with consultation and follow-up local and surgery in Perth.

Surgery is performed at St John of God Murdoch, with public lists at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

GPs referring a patient will find referral criteria, useful imaging and what to include in a referral on the information for referring GPs page.

The practice in numbers

Dr Clark performed 401 hip and knee replacements in 2025 and 357 in 2024 — more than 900 since the start of that year, around 60% of them knee replacements. Sixty were revision procedures.

Dr Clark works on a no-gap basis for privately insured knee replacement patients; what a knee replacement costs covers the private, public and self-funded pathways.

Other knee surgery

Not every knee problem is arthritis. Dr Clark also treats meniscus tears, ACL rupture and ACL reconstruction, and performs knee arthroscopy where it is indicated.

If you are not sure what is causing the pain, Knee Pain by Location works through what pain at the front, sides and back of the knee usually points to, Is It Arthritis or Something Else? covers the conditions most often mistaken for it, and What a Knee Scan Actually Shows explains what X-ray, MRI and CT each contribute.

Where to start reading

If you have been told there is arthritis in your knee, Understanding Knee Arthritis explains in plain English what that means, what people commonly experience, and what the treatment options are. It is written to be read before an appointment and takes about six minutes.

If surgery is already planned, Knee Replacement Recovery sets out the whole timeline week by week — the hospital stay, the first fortnight at home, when driving becomes possible, and what the first year realistically looks like. Preparing for a Knee Replacement covers the weeks beforehand, and The First Two Weeks at Home the practical side of the hardest fortnight — washing, sleeping, and what equipment is actually worth having.

If you are trying to work out whether it is time, Do I Need a Knee Replacement? sets out what actually indicates it — and what does not.

If surgery is not on the table yet, Treating Knee Arthritis Without Surgery covers what actually works before a replacement — exercise, weight, cortisone, gel injections, supplements and PRP — each measured against the Australian clinical guideline.

If you are still deciding who should do it, How to Choose a Knee Replacement Surgeon covers what actually distinguishes one surgeon from another — case volume, whether they perform revisions, whether partial knee replacement is on offer — and the questions worth taking into the consultation.

And if you have been reading about robotic surgery, Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement explains how CT-based planning works, how the Mako, ROSA, VELYS and CORI systems differ, and what the evidence does and does not yet support.