You can barely see the scar, but four months ago one side of Juanita Holt’s right knee was replaced.

“I was up the first day; they had you doing exercises the first day,” the 75-year-old said.

Doctors used something called the Oxford knee — a partial replacement system. 

Patients are able walk on their own twice as fast after surgery compared to a total knee replacement.

“It gives her a little bit smaller incision, a lesser surgery, fairly rapid recovery and a knee that feels more natural,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Terry Clyburn said.

You might say it’s a kinder gentler implant.

The only FDA-approved system with a free-floating bearing made of plastic.

Long-term studies indicate a 98 percent success rate 10 years after surgery. That’s as good as patients who get a total knee replacement.

“The knee will wear out primarily on one side,” Dr. Clyburn said.

The assistant clinical professor at the UT-Houston Health Science Center said osteoarthritis and pain can take over.

“The bad part was I couldn’t walk a long distance,” Holt said. “I like to walk several times a week several miles a day, and I couldn’t do that anymore.”

The Oxford system is suitable for patients of all ages and most weights.

While Dr. Clyburn keeps his patients at least overnight in the hospital, it can be an outpatient surgery.

“It is perfectly doable to go home the same day and probably safe to do so,” Dr. Clyburn said.

A few months after surgery, Holt is on a nearly painless path to recovery.