Department of
Orthopaedics 

When you visit our orthopaedic surgeon, they will conduct all 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/ both knees.
2. Severe pain and progressing over time.
3. The gradual decrease in disability to carry out even simple activities due to joint pains (drastically reducing their ability for even self-care and independence)
4. Pain affects other routines followed in life.
5. Painful movements cause increasing stiffness of the joint and impairing mobility of the affected joint/ joints.
6. When all non-operative modalities of treatment, including physiotherapy, joint-specific exercises & physical therapy and specific injections, have all failed to yield satisfactory/long-term results.

YES. Joint wear & tear/ damage and destruction are seldom seen in younger adults and are usually due to underlying joint disease (e.g., Rheumatoid arthritis). As we grow older, our joints also 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.

As we mentioned earlier, the most typical age bracket requiring joint replacements is between 60-75 years of age. It is rare to find individuals who don’t have any of the above pre-existing conditions at this age. It is, therefore, essential to conduct a meticulous preoperative evaluation involving the diabetologist, a cardiologist and an anaesthetist to best predict how well the patient undergoing the joint replacement surgery will tolerate the procedure.

If the patient is on any blood thinning medication for the heart, it will be essential to stop those medications 3-5 days before surgery as guided by the concerned specialist. On the contrary, joint replacement surgeries will positively impact those individuals who are diabetics, hypertensives and heart ailments. After surgery, the patient is free from joint pain, facilitating more physical activity, which will help prevent repeated chronic complications.

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.

Our protocols are formulated to create a comfortable, low-pain environment for the patient during their hospital stay. On average, patients can presume a maximum limit of 3 days will be required. But with our post-replacement rehab program being made super easy, our patients are usually made fully independent and self-sufficient within 3 days and don’t tend to require more than 3 days before pain-free discharge from the hospital. Patients who wish to stay out of their wishes are welcome, but physically and medically, a hospital stay beyond 3 days is not required.

Undeniably, complications associated with joint replacements, ranging from infection, deep vein thrombosis, and pain, are something to keep in mind. However, we at Sri Balaji Hospital ensure thorough preoperative planning and customisation of the joint to best suit the patient’s needs and demands and help reduce immobilisation risks to near zero. Our strict protocols for maintaining the highest levels of sterility in surgical and post-surgical environments guarantee minimal risk of any complications mentioned above.

The life expectancy of implants used to replace shoulder, knee, elbow, and hip joint is continuously increasing due to the advancements in medical technologies. While there are products in today’s markets which provide these implants with a life span ranging from 10 years to 40 years, the right choice of implant is crucial in the longevity of the implant (artificial joints). Your activity level, weight, and the extent of joint damage are all influential factors when it comes to the durability of implants. Hence, we at Sri Balaji Hospital consider these factors and then plan and customise the implant to suit your personality and the material best suited for you, allowing you to enjoy the longest possible longevity of your implant as demanded by your joint.

At Sri Balaji Hospital, the protocols we adhere to allow the patient to discard the help of any walker support/ walking aid within 2-4 weeks and allow the patients to leave home and enjoy their lives outdoors in as little as 2 weeks. How far and how long the patient would like to walk are subject to the patient’s wishes but medically, there will be no such limit levied on the patient after two weeks since the date of joint surgeries.

Usually, during the 3-5 days stay at the Sri Balaji hospital, rehabilitation is started on the same evening as the surgery. By the third day, the patient is well and truly independent and will not require any external physiotherapy training after going home. Almost 50-60% of physical therapy, including staircase climbing, is achieved within the 3-5 days of hospital stay, leaving little effort to be put in by the patient and/ or their caregivers on going after discharge from the hospital.

Post-surgery stitch removal is carried out in 2 weeks. Some exceptional situations may rarely demand stitch removal to be withheld until week 3. In the meantime, a maximum of two inspections of the surgical wound will be required between the date of surgery and stitch removal. If you wish to, you could opt for our home care facility wherein trained personnel from Sri Balaji Hospital, well versed in handling joint surgery dressings, can be assigned for home visits to do the dressings and wound care at the comfort of your own home (on days as advised and coordinated by our surgical consultant in charge) with no fuss or hassle of arranging transport or any other dressing instruments. If you would like the dressing to be done at the hospital itself, the days and times of your visits will be determined by our experts.