On 16 Jul, 2022 Seniors Today hosted its weekly Health Live webinar with Dr Rajesh Dharia, who spoke on and answered questions about Knee Replacement & Knee Care in Seniors
Dr Rajesh Dharia is a leading Consultant Orthopaedic and Joint Replacement Surgeon based in Mumbai, having performed over 4000 replacement surgeries. An award winning doctor, Dr Dharia is trained in Mumbai, UK, Germany, the US, Japan and Australia. He operates at Saifee, Breach Candy, HN Reliance and the Cumballa Hill Hospitals amongst others.
Covid as such is not a threat anymore. The number of cases, though rising, are mild and are more commonly seen in the elderly individuals with previously known comorbidities. Routine protocols are being followed at the hospitals.
It is a common query as to what was the point of getting vaccinated if you can still get infected by Covid. To this query, Dr Rajesh Dharia answers by informing the audience that the vaccine has reduced the morbidity that was caused by the virus which means that the patients will not be severely affected; they might test positive, have mild flu like symptoms and recover soon. Viruses by nature mutate.
Knee osteoarthritis is a common problem individuals suffer with, usually during the latter half of their lives unless you have had other problems in the past that have destroyed your joint due to trauma or some other reason.
Primary knee osteoarthritis is the wear and tear of your knee joint. Usually the inside of your knee gets worn out more than the outside. This is why the patients tend to have medial bending of the knee , which starts to get rounded and slowly the weight bearing surface of the knee gets worn out and it may require surgical intervention.
Obesity is a major factor contributing to knee osteoarthritis.
Somethings that Dr Rajesh would like to bring to everyone’s notice is
- Avoid sitting cross legged or squatting
- A lot of weight is not good for the knees
- Knee is a hinge joint and as far as possible, it should be used in only one direction
If you have pain, numbness or itching near your site of incision post total knee repair surgery (TKR) it can be due to a non healing or not well healed incision which is common in diabetic patients. If the nerve that supplies to your knee is cut during the TKR it can also lead to paresthesia or numbness of the knee.
Precautions you can take to avoid knee osteoarthritis:
- Maintain your weight wishing the admissible limits and your BMI
- Avoid sitting cross legged or squatting- these two things tend to spoil the knee faster
- Ensure that you do not have any osteoporosis
If you have an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear, usually individuals with an advanced age and an ACL tear do not undergo reconstruction surgery and it is usually treated conservatively. But if the ACL is torn the tends to go into osteoarthritis very rapidly. \
Knee replacement nowadays is not at all expensive, it is like any other surgery plus the cost of the implant. All the implants are within or below ₹60,000-₹65,000.
For patients who are fit ie they are not diabetic, obese or have any other comorbid conditions- and who only have knee problems and need to be operated for just that, in the US they have started day care surgeries for knee replacement where the individuals are operated in the morning and discharged the very next day. Slowly that culture has started coming to our side as well- we try to discharge the patient in 2 to 3 days unless the other knee is also to be replaced.
Knee replacement surgery is not a life or limb saving surgery and so should only be done when everything else has been tried and failed. Dr Dharia says he is a conservative surgeon. He also says that timely knee surgery can improve your quality of life; with delay in surgery, there is also a chance for deformity.
There is no right time to get a knee replacement surgery, it all depends on when you want it, how incapacitated you are, the levels of your pain bearing capacity and deformity.
Do not wait till your knee is unstable and if your knee has become unstable, do not delay the surgery any further than you have. It can lead to falls, backaches and problems.
VitD and calcium tablets are helpful in reducing osteoporosis NOT osteoarthritis.
You can also reach out to Dr Rajesh Dharia for a consultation on his mobile, his contact details are as follows: 9820000753; an appointment can be made on the aforementioned number
