Udaipur: For 67-year-old Mrs.Danmalikin, a Nigerian national who had lost all hope of walking on her feet, life is finally moving again.Mrs.Danmalikin was experiencing terrible pain in her knee joints and left foot for many years.
This, coupled with a big toe deformity, made it near to impossible for her to walk properly, without support or a walker for last 4 years. On 21stFebShe was operatedon by the expert doctors at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (IAH) who carried out a relatively new and advanced procedure, ‘Half – Knee Replacement’. The procedure involved replacing part of the damaged part of knee instead of total knee replacement. The successful surgery was performed by Dr YashGulati, Senior Consultant, Joint replacement and spine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and his team.
Elaborating on the patient’s condition,DrYashGulatisaid,“The patient was in a very bad shape when she came to us. She had severe problem in her right knee and a deformed big toe in the left foot.
She was unable to walk even a step without help. After some time under observation, and some necessary tests, we decided to perform a half – knee replacement surgery, also called oxford knee.
The procedure requires a small incision. Only the part of the knee affected by arthritis is operated on and a small implant is placed.
Also, there is a mobile meniscus between the two small metal components. To keep the natural movement intact, the outer part of the knee is not touched. The instrumentation through which it is done is known as microplasty instrumentation. Along with this, the toe deformity was corrected using what is known as the Keller procedure.”
“The patient started recovering just a day after her surgery. She was fit to go back to her country just ten daysafter the surgery. She is able to walk on her own, without help,” further added Dr Gulati.Post the surgery Mrs.Danmalikin said, “Itried all possible treatments, but didn’t get any relief.
When I consulted Dr.Gulati at IAH, I was in terrible pain and could not walk without a walker or even do my daily chores. I had to depend on others for even the smallest job. Today, it is because of the continuous efforts Dr.Gulati and his diligent team that I am walking on my own. I am really grateful to the team here.” Talking about the half – knee replacement surgery, Dr Gulati said, “It is a relatively new procedure where, instead of a total knee replacement, only the part that is damaged is replaced depending on the requirement. Since it is a smaller operation without cutting any muscles, recovery is fast and patient is back to normal activities very soon. Cross-leg sitting is also possible.
There is no need for blood transfusion.There is a lack of awareness about partial knee replacement and the benefits associated with it and public needs to be informed about it.
About 30% of patients undergoing total knee replacement would do well with only half knee replacement.” “Usually it takes less than an hour to perform a partial knee replacement surgery. It involves small incisions and thus the recovery time is less.” concluded Dr Gulati.
