How to Make Your Knee Replacement Last a Lifetime
Computer Navigation and Knee Replacement through Keyhole Surgery, is the answer, says Dr Barry Rosario

The knee joint is one of the strongest and most complex of the large joints of the human body. Since it is the most used joint in the body, it is not surprising that as we grow old, the joint lining (articular cartilage) wears away and people find it painful to move – Osteoarthritis of old age. There are also other crippling conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and others.

Treatment for Arthritis
If you have developed arthritis, there are several forms of treatment available to you. These include medical management through analgesics, NSAIDS, disease-modifying drugs etc; physiotherapy and exercises in the form of ultrasonic therapy; heat massage and interferential therapy and quadriceps drill – which may provide temporary remission of the disease.

If you have reached a stage where you are unable to perform your daily routine – then surgery – Minimally Invasive Total Knee Replacement (MITKR) can offer you a new lease of life.

Conventional technique for Total Knee Replacement Under epidural anaesthesia, an incision is made over the front of the knee, and the knee joint is exposed. With the use of special cutting jigs, the damaged articular surface of the femur and tibia are resected and shaped to
fit the knee prosthesis, of which there are several sizes. The femoral and tibial prosthesis are cemented to the bone and between the two is a high-density polyethylene liner. Together they form the new joint on which you can walk painlessly.
Computer Navigation in Total Knee Replacement Computer Navigated MITKR ensures that knee components are placed in perfect alignment with the normal knee axis to ensure a lifetime of trouble-free erformance. It also enables us to make bony cuts with zero degree error and enables us to do soft tissue balancing of the knee, so that all the ligaments are in even tension.

How is MITKR superior?
First of all there is a very small skin incision and this means, less damage to muscle and soft tissue and less blood loss. As a result of this, you will have less pain in the postoperative period.

With a minimum exposure – maximum accuracy is guaranteed, because of the very small size of the instruments used to cut in small areas.

The great advantage of Computer Navigated MITKR is implantation accuracy, decreased blood loss, decreased pain, shorter hospital stay, increased range of motion and above all (especially for women) – a cosmetic scar

Patient’s reactions to MITKR MIOT was the first hospital in the Asia Pacific Region to perform Computer Navigated MITKR. In the last three months we have performed 55 surgeries. The patients are very happy with the small incision and the decrease in post-operative pain. They are able to perform straight leg raising on the third day and full flexion is obtained by the tenth day – the day of discharge.