The perfect technological achievement … new lease of life..!
Asia is different from rest of the world, by both genetically and socially..! As compared to western people, we are short & so are the shapes and size of the bones or joints. Obviously we need the sizes that will match our native bone sizes!
Secondly we sit on floor quite often for daily activities. In peripheral India in the absence of household commodes type of Toilets, the squatting activity is a daily necessity. In Japan they sit cross-legged for social reasons whereas for offering ‘Namaj’ in nearby countries everybody has to sit on their knees. That means our day to day activities demand a lot different from our knee joints as compared to European patient.
Thirdly the awareness for sports activity is rising. Even after joint replacement many patients want to continue enjoying sports like Cycling, Lawn Tennis and Swimming. Better the knee flexion after surgery better will be the enjoyment and functional result.
Since 1980 the interest in joint replacement is growing. Patients with hip replacements have been walking on new joints for almost 30 years now. In England alone, there are about 30000 knees and 35000 hips replaced each year. So it is a highly successful operation. But when the surgeries are done in India, I would like to cater to our priorities, social needs and demands which are obviously different. The questions which I had not heard during my five year stay in England have become a routine in daily practise in Pune..!
For daily activity even 100 degree of bending is enough but say to ride bicycle or to sit cross-legged, to climb up and down high steps we need up-to 1200 of bending at knee. As compared to old designs, the new knee joints have deep poly-plastic dish making this possible. These designs are called ‘High Flex Knee’. We got multiple sizes of the prosthesis that helps to mix n match to fit exactly on to the bone. Thus the new joint surface is prepared by removing damaged bone but preserving as much bone as possible. This is an advantage of using ‘Bone Preserving Prosthesis’. Thus the new joint can function to the perfection and will be long-lasting.
In medical field, I prefer to see evidence of use for any new device in humans. Sometimes on paper or in laboratory the designs look very impressive but they may not work that well in our body under stress. Hence I believe in ‘Evidence Based Medicine’ by which there should be plenty of supportive documents showing the use in actual patients without any deterioration for many years of use.
I will just highlight the real benefits of this technological marvel. All those patients who are suffering from Knee arthritis know the pain and disability it gives. Every step that you take could be painful suffering, which can disturb your personal and social life. You cannot play any sports or even with children. It keeps on disturbing your sleep and enjoyment in life. If so this is the time to think..! The benefits of total knee replacement are significant pain relief, correcting the bowed, deformed knee to straight legs. At the same time it maintains the knee bending and function. After surgery one can improve the productivity of their life as well as enjoyment. One of my patients from Cambridge is a regular visitor to Alps in France after total knee replacement for the sports especially the Snow Skiing..!
The Total Knee replacement, the technological achievement is there to help the needy patients to improve their ‘Quality Of Life’. Also the modern surgery is much safer than older days. One can use the new options and open a new chapter or new lease of life..!