Joint Replacement
Treatment
in Chennai

Not all joint pains require joint replacements. The concept of joint replacement is only applicable for those with severe, end-stage destruction of joints, secondary to advanced age-related damage or specific orthopaedic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. This level of joint destruction characteristically presents as severe joint pain, resulting in a progressive reduction in the person's ability to carry out daily and basic activities, along with deformities due to worsening and progressive joint destruction.

When you visit our orthopaedic surgeon, they will conduct necessary physical evaluations and suggest imaging tests such as an X-ray or, less frequently, a CT SCAN or an MRI scan to determine the extent of joint damage. In extreme conditions, joint replacement may be the only solution for patients who have one or more of the following circumstances:

1. Deformity in one knee or both knees.
2. Severe pain that is progressing over time.
3. A gradual decrease in disability to carry out even simple activities due to joint pains, drastically reducing self-care and independence.
4. Pain affecting other routines in life.
5. Painful movements causing increasing stiffness of the joint and impairing mobility of the affected joint(s).
6. When all non-operative treatments, including physiotherapy, joint-specific exercises, physical therapy and specific injections, have all failed to yield satisfactory or long-term results.

Prior to surgery, patients must undergo routine urinalysis and blood tests, along with a comprehensive physical examination conducted by the surgeon. For patients over 50 years of age or those with a history of respiratory or cardiac issues, additional tests such as chest X-ray and an EKG are mandatory. Most pre-admission testing can be conveniently completed at the hospital where the surgery is scheduled.

Please bring personal toiletries, comfortable and loose-fitting clothing, slippers or slip-on shoes with closed backs and a list of your current medications with dosages. Additionally, bring any requested paperwork. If you use a walker, arrange for it to be brought to the hospital at discharge for evaluation by a physical therapist. Please avoid bringing televisions, radios, credit cards, large sums of cash, or other valuable items.

Here at Sri Balaji, we emphasise perfect, accurate and customised joint replacement techniques to allow patients to leave the bed and use the restroom within 24 hours of surgery. We encourage the patient to continue walking and climbing stairs within 3-5 days of surgery.

We at Sri Balaji Hospital adhere to strict joint replacement protocols in line with those proposed by Western medical advancements, which help the patient get out of bed and start walking around within 24 hours following the joint replacement surgery.

In order to achieve this, specially designed and customised pain relief protocols are followed to ensure that the patient achieves these results with little-to-no pain while walking within the first 24 hours.

If your stitches are absorbable, they will not require removal. Non-absorbable stitches or skin staples are typically removed 10 to 14 days post-surgery. Steri-strips should be left in place until they naturally fall off, which aids in keeping the skin edges together. If they remain past three weeks, they can be gently removed.

Post-surgery, it is essential to use a cane or walker for 3-6 weeks. These aids help maintain balance and stability as muscle control improves and are typically phased out as recovery progresses.

Joint replacement is seldom carried out in younger individuals except for those with severe destructive joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylosis, or neglected congenital pathologies involving the joint. The concept of joint replacement is mainly applicable to those with severe, end-stage destruction of joints due to advanced age-related damage or specific orthopaedic diseases causing joint destruction.

As we grow older, our joints undergo the effects of ageing and may become damaged due to wear and tear accumulated over the span of 60-70 years of use. We have successfully performed joint replacement surgery in patients over 80-90 years of age.

The average age for joint replacement usually ranges from 60 to 75 years. To ensure the surgery is safe, doctors carefully check the patient's overall health before the operation. They evaluate if the person is fit for surgery and take steps to minimise risks. So, while getting a joint replacement may sound scary, but doctors' thorough checks and preparations help minimise the risks to near zero.