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Arthroscopy & Joint Replacement Centre |
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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.
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Before
operation, complete destruction of joint
surfaces with deformity of the knee,
swelling and pain |
After
operation, deformity fully corrected and
joint surfaces restored. |
Total Hip
Replacement
Total Hip Replacement is a replacement of damaged or
arthritic surfaces of the hip joint with materials to
restore the integrity of joint. Most often materials are
made of metals and plastics. This will completely cure
the pain and correct all the deformities.
A plastic socket and metal ball and stem fixed to the
bone with bone cement. Patient had complete relief of
pain and started walking next day with full weight on
his legs.
There are a few complications of joint replacement but
fortunately they are rare.
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X-ray of the
patients hip joints showing severe arthritis
in the left hip joint with destruction of
the joint surfaces |
X-ray of the
same patient after operation. |
Arthroscopy
 This
is a keyhole surgery for the treatment of the joint
injuries. This is performed as a day case procedure
(Patient is admitted in the morning, 2-3 hours before
operation and discharged in the evening). It also has
the benefit of avoiding open operation, which means the
patient can be back to work in 2-3 weeks. This operation
is indicated for treating injuries of the knees and
ankles and also useful in early stages of arthritis of
the knees. It can also be used to treat certain painful
conditions of the shoulder.
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