Joseph Maina Githemba from Kenya was advised replacement of his left knee owing to an accident he met 15 years ago.
Under the care of Vikram Mhaskar, consultant, Knee and Shoulder Surgery, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, Mr. Githemba underwent a complete check-up and was given quick clearance for the surgery as he did not suffer from co-morbidities. The 60-year-old was also trained to do exercises that would be required post-surgery.
Dr. Mhaskar and his team have claimed to perform the first daycare total knee replacement (TKR) in north India using a minimally invasive technique.
These included no tourniquet, injecting local anaesthesia into the skin before making an incision as well as into tissues at regular intervals and injection of tranexamic acid to reduce bleeding post-operation.
General anaesthesia with adductor canal block was used to ensure that bleeding was minimal. A catheter was inserted into the adductor canal to make sure that pain relief medicine flowed continuously around the nerve.
Dr. Mhaskar said, “TKR is a time-taking procedure, with around three hours of surgery and a long hospital stay post-operation. Daycare TKR has served as a revolution in the healthcare industry with minimal incision, exposure, blood loss and hospitalisation. It also brings down the total cost by nearly 30% compared to standard TKR. No co-morbidities in Mr. Githemba’s case made this first daycare TKR procedure a success.”
