Story of a Knee Replacement Medical Tourism Patient

Posted by surgery on February 13, 2010 under India | Be the First to Comment

Nancy, an American lady undertook a journey half way around the world to get two new knees. A unique implant called the Journey knee was implanted in both her knees by Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam, Orthopedic surgeon at the Madras Joint Replacement Center.

Only 59 years of age, Nancy had worn out her knees by years of Salsa dancing. She was in so much pain that she couldn’t stand continuously for more than 20 – 30 minutes. After successful bilateral knee replacements, now she is very keen to get back to the dance floor with her dance partner.

She zeroed in on this doctor after researching her options for nearly two years. She preferred the Journey Oxinium knee as it is the only implant in the orthopedic knee device space that behaves almost like a normal human knee.
“Patients these days want more than just pain relief” says Dr.Venkat, who performed staggered bilateral knee replacements on Nancy.
They want small incisions, better pain relief, quicker recovery, better bending and a feeling of a normal knee” says the orthopedic surgeon. The Journey Oxinium knee delivers on all counts.
The surgeon used 4 inch long incisions and a midvastus approach to implant these knees. Nancy was very much satisfied with the pain relief practice of the hospital. She stood up on day 1 and climbed stairs on day 4 after her first knee.
Talking about the Journey knee, Dr. Venkatachalam says that the biomechanics & kinematics are really different. Kinematics is the science of study of implants & joints in motion. Dr. Venkatachalam has implanted the device in 12 knees so far and says this design is different from traditional implants.
“They tend to just glide and bend whereas this one rotates or pivots as it bends,” he said. This pivoting is what happens to your knee during a golf swing.  It’s more natural. “People are very interested in how much their knee bends now, not just how it doesn’t hurt anymore,” said Dr. Venkat of the Madras Joint replacement center.
“I feel there is more movement, that I can move smoother when I twist my leg around this way,” said a previous patient Paul Jackman Graham from England who also had bilateral Journey knee replacements in December 2009 by the same surgeon. Before me there is only a new life. I am thrilled to be able to walk along the Thames River to London Bridge and back from where I live in Sussex, England says Paul.
Results show the unique ceramic coating in the Oxinium knee has an 85-percent reduction in wear. The hope is the implant will last longer. This is important considering that there is a growing demographic of younger people demanding total knee replacement.