Global Hospitals and Health City on Monday launched a Global Initiative for Movement Restoration (GLOMORE) to help patients with hip and knee problems.
It has been started for patients suffering from arthritis needing surgery and other forms of treatments. The group comprises people who have successfully undergone orthopaedic treatments and surgeries at the hospital. They will help educating the new patients to understand their condition, and guide them towards the right treatment.
Ajit Yadav, head, department of Orthopaedics and Total Joint Reconstructive Surgery, Global Hospitals, said when patients who have been through a successful procedure speak to new patients, they interact at a different level, and are sometimes able to communicate what even professionals fail to do so.
In addition, the groups will also comprise a panel of medical and allied professionals including orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists, rehabilitation physicians, physicians, nurses and physiotherapists. This panel will provide critical inputs to enable patients to choose their mode of treatment and lead a wholesome life, post surgery.
A one-day workshop was also held at the hospital on total knee replacement (TKR) and interaction with Michael Pappas, and Frederick Buechel, collaborators on the Buechel-Pappas Total Knee design. With a view to reducing wear and tear in the artificial knee so as to enable younger patients to undergo surgery without fear of early revision, the two developed the mobile bearing knee system.
This is an improvement over their New Jersey LCS Total Knee, developed more than 30 years ago.
The latest design works with two cobalt-nickel-chrome alloy surfaces that have high temperature and corrosion resistance, and are bio compatible. In between these two surfaces are sandwiched a wedge of ultra-high molecular weight poly ethylene plastic, which facilitates movement, and maximum flexion of the knee.
Patients are encouraged to walk the day after the total knee replacement surgery, and within six weeks, most patients are able to undertake normal activities, Dr. Beuchel who is an orthopaedic surgeon saidThis prosthesis, it is being said, has a life of 30-40 years, depending on the level of activity. With more intense activity, it lasts for fewer years. However, there are patients who have gone on to take up bicycling, mountain climbing, running and tennis after they had TKR. This generation of devices would benefit Indians who have severe deformities, and also greater use for flexion in daily activities, according to Dr. Beuchel.
The current generation device is better, it allows greater flexion, and creates less debris, thereby extending the life of the prosthesis, Dr. Pappas said. He is a mechanical engineer who was formerly at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In India the device costs Rs. 50,000 plus taxes, and the surgery is likely to bill up to Rs. 1-1.5 lakh, Dr. Yadav added.
