An advanced technique in knee replacement has helped arthritic people continue their routine activities. A city-based orthopaedic surgeon has been using the technique for nearly two decades, helping severely arthritic patients return to normal functional life within weeks.
“For an advanced arthritis of the knee total knee replacement is the only solution,” according to C. Lenin, chief orthopaedic surgeon and managing director of OI Orthoinde hospital. People hesitate to undergo replacement owing to prolonged recovery time, life of the implant and comfort after replacement. In conventional procedures, the cut on the knee includes the skin, thigh muscles and the quadriceps tendons. After fixing the implant the muscles are repaired but it takes several months for the wound to heal. Patients are offered physiotherapy, which is painful, he explained. “Though the surgeon may say, ‘stand up and walk’ the muscles do not cooperate,” he added.
Knee joints are known as modified hinge joints as they allow for some amount of rotational freedom that conventional implants do not provide. “After replacement the patient’s knee will not forget the rotational movement. When the knee rotates the bond between the implant and the bone breaks resulting in another surgery,” Dr. Lenin explained.
