Francois
Adriaans, a Dutch male patient received a knee replacement made of
Zirconium. This unique operation was performed for the first time in South
India. He is perhaps one of the youngest patients in India and definitely
the youngest patient in the Netherlands to undergo a total knee replacement treatment.
This knee replacement was implanted utilizing navigation or computer
assisted surgery (CAS ).
The patient is recovering well in hospital. His successful knee surgery
opens the gates of hope to thousands of young patients languishing in India
and around the world with arthritic knees. The Oxinium knee is a patented
product of Smith & Nephew. It is made of Zirconium a metal. Zirconium is
super heated in the presence of Oxygen which converts the surface layer into
a ceramic. It thus acquires the beneficial properties of both metals and
ceramic. Particularly its hardness and scratch resistance bestows it with
unique advantages. Other advantages are its tolerability and low coefficient
of friction.
Computer assisted surgery for knee replacement or navigation was used to ensure precise
placement of the implant as the knee surgery was being done for a young patient
where perfection really matters. Moreover the patient had additional
deformities in the bones of his thigh which rendered the use of conventional
instruments impossible.
Although hip resurfacings are being done in young patients, this is perhaps
the first time that a knee replacement was done for a young patient. A total
knee replacement sometimes becomes necessary in young patients when they
have run out of all options and have to endure a life of pain from a painful
arthritic knee. Even in India, there are many patients suffering from
rheumatoid arthritis, post traumatic arthritis, Gout, avascular necrosis of
the knee needing joint replacement. There is no doubt that this good news
will be received with great glee by young patients who are in need of TKR,
says Dr. Venkatachalam.
This summer, millions headed out to foreign lands for
vacation, adventure, tourism, or just a beautiful beach.
But how about hip surgery or a multiple bypass or a facelift?
A growing number of tourists are doing just that, combining holidays with
health care, and that's because a growing number of countries are offering
first-rate medical health care services at Third-World prices. Many of these medical
tourists can't afford home medical care services (the 40 million uninsured
Americans, for example). Others are going for procedures not covered by
their insurance: cosmetic surgery or infertility treatment, for example.
And as Correspondent Bob Simon reported last spring, the hospitals in these
faraway countries are glad to have these medical tourists. In fact, they are
courting their business, trying to get more people to outsource their own
health care.
