Joint Replacement

This unit has been established to help patients with arthritis and injuries of the joints mainly the hip, knee and ankle. The Unit is headed by Dr Rajendra Bhandankar who has been trained in the United Kingdom for last five years under eminent surgeons to perform Joint Replacements and Arthroscopic procedures.  

Arthritis is a condition in which joint surfaces get worn out causing pain, swelling and stiffness of the affected joints. Often the hip and knee joints are involved. Arthritis can be due to different reasons, commonest being due to advancing age. Other causes are Rheumatoid arthritis, following severe joint injury, long-term steroid treatment etc.

The treatment of arthritis in the initial stages is by means of medications. Regular exercise, loosing weight, using a walking stick and avoiding injury to the affected joints will also substantially help reducing the symptoms.

In the advanced stages of the disease the medical management is not effective and patient may suffer from side effects of the painkillers if taken on a regular basis for prolonged periods. Patient also suffers from restricted mobility, which may affect the activities of daily living like walking and taking care of personal hygiene.

There are two surgical options in the management of arthritis of the knee depending on the severity of the disease. In moderately severe disease washout of the knee using a keyhole surgery (Arthroscopy) will temporarily relieve the symptoms for a few months to years. The advantage of this procedure is that it is a relatively minor operation. The disadvantage is that it is a temporary cure. The only way to permanently cure the joint pain is Total Knee Replacement.  In this operation the worn joint surfaces are removed and replaced with metal and plastic surfaces. The benefits of surgery are manifold. It completely relieves the patient of pain. The range of movement of the joint is improved thereby radically increasing the distance and duration for which a patient can walk or stand. The deformity of the leg is corrected so also the limp caused by shortening of the limp.

	The patient can sit out of bed next day and is walking with the aid of crutches or walker in 2-3 days. The walking distance is slowly increased. The patient is discharged from the hospital in 12-14 days when he is independent and bending the knee to 90 degrees.
Before operation, complete destruction of joint  surfaces with deformity of the knee, swelling and pain		After operation, deformity fully corrected and joint surfaces restored