New techniques to ease joint replacements

With a steady increase in the number of Indians suffering from joint disorders, new techniques from around the world that cause minimal invasion and inconvenience have come to their rescue, doctors said here Sunday.

The announcement was made at "Current concepts in arthroplasty", a two-day annual conference of orthopaedics from across the world that was organized by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

The two-day conference ended Sunday.

According to Rajesh Malhotra, professor in AIIMS' orthopaedic department, introduction of techniques like 'partial knee replacement' and 'gold knee' will provide relief to thousands of patients who undergo joint replacement surgeries.

"With the launch of the partial knee implant, the patients in India will have the comfort of getting only the damaged part of their knee replaced, instead of the whole joint," Malhotra told IANS.

"The gold knee is made up of special metal for the patients who are allergic to metals. The non-presence of nickel in the gold knee makes it safe for such patients," he added.

Over 85,000 knee replacements and almost equal numbers of hip replacement procedures take place every year in India.

According to doctors, there are over 60 million people over the age of 50 with variable involvement of their joints with osteoarthritis. Moreover, rheumatoid arthritis and other joint afflictions also result in considerable joint damage and disability.

An orthopedic expert visiting from Singapore, Tarren Keng Jim, said that the new developments in the field will be a major boost for the Indian orthopaedics who are dealing with increasing number of young patients.