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NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 22:

        Knee replacement surgery is now made easier and pain-free with little complications after the advent of high-flexion procedure that involves the fixing of an efficient and flexible prosthesis at the worn out knee joint.

        'If people suffering from arthritis (joint inflammation) come for treatment at early stages of the diseases, there is much scope to avoid a surgery and cure the joint disorder through a combination of drugs and physiotherapy,' said Dr Siva Murugan, director and orthopaedic surgeon, Soundarapandian Bone and Joint Hospital at Anna Nagar. Briefing the media recently on the high-flexion surgery in knee replacement for those suffering from advanced stages of arthritis, he said apart from relieving the pain, the new procedure offered a range of foot movements because of a durable and flexible implant that was being imported from the US.

        He said for those crippled with severe pain and deformation in the knee joint, the high-flexion surgery offered a ray of hope to lead a normal, pain-free life. 'Early referral is a must to prevent deterioration of arthritis. Though the final solution for joint inflammation is surgery, through drugs and carefully modified exercise with a physiotherapy regimen at the initial stages of arthritis will bring down the pain by controlling the spread of disease,' he said.

        People across age groups, especially Indian above 40 years, were vulnerable to two types of arthritis — rheumatoid and osteo — that affected hips, knees, foot, neck, elbow, hands and legs. 'Osteo arthritis commonly prevalent among Indians affected mostly the knee, spine and hip joints and treatment includes weight reduction, drugs and physiotherapy. However, replacement surgery is the last option that offered a complete cure and total relief from pain,' he explained.

        In high-flexion surgery, the blood loss was much less than conventional procedure for knee replacement, even as patients were discharged after 15 days of post-operative care. Also, the rotating device mounted on a platform offered a range of free movement in a painless manner.

        Costing Rs 1.5 lakh, the high-flexion surgery was first introduced in the US two years ago and since then this form of knee replacement has become popular across the world.

        In the last one-and-a-half year, Soundarapandian Hospital has done high-flexion procedure on 25 patients with a good success rate. Though WHO had declared the period from 2000 - 2010 as Bone and Joint decade, there was very little awareness or propaganda in Chennai on how to prevent arthritis for a healthy life, Dr Siva Murugan said. 'If a person is made immobile due to arthritis, then in due course the patient may to suffer from diabetes, hypertension and cardiac problems as exercise is not possible with the aggravation of joint inflammation,' he warned.