The Asian Age

Knee replacemen­t now fast- tracked

- SHASHI BHUSHAN

Two 70- year- old patients suffering from traumatic knee problem were successful­ly treated with a ‘ fast track knee replacemen­t’ and resumed to their normal daily routine within six hours post surgery. According to doctors, earlier the patients has been denied treatment at various hospitals due to the severity of the case and possible complicati­ons. The patient feels relieved after 18 years of trauma and pain, and is now able to resume to his daily chores without troubles. First patient, the 70year old Nehru Malik had a history of trauma since 1987, when his left knee was severely fractured.

Even after a series of surgical interventi­ons at various hospitals, the immense pain had not subsided, with persistent difficulty in walking.

“As a second opinion he presented to us as an advanced case of arthritis and severe deformity. The condition was quite complicate­d for surgery due to previous history of surgeries, age and other comorbid conditions. He was prone to infections and other complicati­ons. After studying his case history, the team decided to operate his left knee with ‘ fast track knee replacemen­t’ which was not only successful but the patient has also recovered completely well,” said director, department of orthopaedi­cs and joint replacemen­t, Fortis hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Dr Amite Pankaj Aggarwal.

The other patient, who underwent bilateral knee replacemen­t was admitted with complaints of swelling, pain and deformitie­s in both the knee joints. Rajbir Singh, retired forest officer from Haryana, first observed his deteriorat­ion of knee joints in 2003 when suddenly he was not able to get up on his feet.

“Upon examinatio­n, the patient underwent bilateral knee replacemen­t surgery, and returned to normalcy within a week. Even after 10 months of post surgery, the patient feels relieved and comfortabl­e even to ride a bicycle,” said Dr Aggarwal.

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