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pain instead of getting it properly
treated. This can lead to arthritis
further down the line, or it may
be genetic, or a post collagen
muscular disorder or some other
form of arthritis which affects the
joints.”
Typically Dr. Garg and the team
will replace the joint only and only
if there is no other means or mode
of relieving pain in that knee joint.
“So, if a patient has knee arthritis
and has tried all other modalities
of treatment including pain killers,
lifestyle modifications, braces,
injections, and joint debridment
with knee arthroscopy, yet still
the knee pain is disrupting daily
activities, then we educate and
suggest the patient go for knee
replacement surgery,” he states.
RECOVERY
Today, knees joint replacement
surgeries are much more improved
in the hands of a good surgeon
with the best implants and the
latest infrastructure, than it was
before, points out Dr. Garg.
He adds, “Now the post-operative
period has almost become
pain-free with better analgesic
control by the highly professional
anesthetist team.”
"For early recovery, we ask the
patient to start moving his limbs
as soon the patient regains their
senses in their lower limbs from
effect of the anesthesia, and make
them stand within 24 to 48 hours
and walk with a help of walker. On
an average, the patient stays with
us in our hospital for 4 to 5 days
and upon discharge, the patient is
independent enough to take care of
his activities of daily living. A pre-
designed physiotherapy protocol
is followed for each patient from
day 1 and on an average, a patient
requires 4 to 6 weeks of good
effective rehabilitation period for
better results.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF
PHYSIOTHERAPY
The role that physiotherapy plays in
the patient’s prognosis is paramount
and Dr. Avinash maintains that it is
actually something that is done from
start to finish in their department.
Further elaborating, Dr. Mohammed
Ahmed Refai Farag Sanad explains,
“After surgery, our patient is shifted for
physiotherapy to complete the job. If
we stop post-surgery, the patient can
actually lose 50 percent of the result.”
TEAMWORK
Performing a joint replacement for a patient is
total teamwork, explains Dr. Avinash; from the
fitness of the patient to the point of surgery
and later physiotherapy requirements. He
explains, “Although replacement surgery is
a broad perspective, because every knee/
joint replacement is different for every patient,
everything is totally individualized to that
particular patient because some patients may
have deformities, some have the inability to
move due to pain, some may have severity due
to arthritis, so it’s all according to these factors
that a surgery will be done.”
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May/June 2017