Total Knee Replacement, partial knee replacement MJRC India

Do you have knee arthritis in young age as a result of sports or an accident? Young people too are prone to knee pain just as older individuals do. These injuries may sideline sports careers, mobility, and range of motion. More baby boomers (born between 1945 & 1965) are experiencing joint pain, lack of mobility and frozen knees caused by end-stage arthritis. This may be bad news but there is Good news for you! A long lasting Oxinium or ceramic coated knee replacement in India is relieving many patients of their agony. 

Historically, total knee replacements are known to have poor outcomes in the young due to their higher activity levels compared to older patients. Normally a knee implant is expected to survive for 10 to 15 years and hence surgeons are reluctant to place them in younger patients as they are bound to outlive their implants.

Ceramic Oxinium knee Replacement

Better materials

With the advent of newer materials and designs of knee prostheses, these perceptions are about to change. The biggest advance is the availability of newer materials like Ceramic for knee replacements. Pure ceramic or ceramic coatings on metal are the latest in technology.

Advantages of Zirconium knees

The significant advantage of Zirconium knee implants is that it is considerably harder. On testing it lasts 85 times longer in tests that simulate the stresses inside the actual knee.

Additional advantages are scratch resistance. When it is wet, ceramic can glide smoothly along plastic, making for smoother motion than with metal-on-plastic. As a result, the  Ceramic Oxinium total knee replacement will not generate the quantity of plastic wear debris that cobalt chrome will, and the implants should last considerably longer.
Zirconium is one of the six most biocompatible elements know to man. So, your immune system will more easily tolerate your new implant.
Lastly, patients who are allergic to nickel, the metal most often used in the current implants, cannot currently receive total knee replacements. The ceramic implant, however, can be implanted safely in patients with nickel allergy, since it contains a zirconium alloy with no nickel. Implants made of Oxinium have been implanted in larger number of patients in the UK Australia and the US with great success.

Who would benefit most from an Oxinium total knee replacement?   

Three categories of patients have been identified as the "best" candidates for an Oxinium total knee replacement.

"Younger" patients: Because Oxinium knee implants offer significantly less wear compared to cobalt chrome implants, they are expected to last considerably longer. In the past, orthopedic surgeons have advised patients less than 65 years of age to wait to have knee replacement surgery because the life span of the cobalt chrome knee implants is only 10-15 years. Now, surgeons have a viable option for a younger patient who previously would not be a candidate for a total knee replacement because the Oxinium knee implants should last much longer. Therefore, a patient under the age of 65 who has advanced arthritis of the knee no longer has to suffer for years until he reaches an appropriate age for total knee replacement surgery.

"Active" patients: Patients, who desire to return to an active lifestyle, including sports, dancing, gardening, or other strenuous activities, may also benefit from an Oxinium knee replacement. As a result of their high activity level, this patient population will put more "wear and tear" on their knee replacement, which can cause the implants to wear more quickly. An Oxinium knee is better able to tolerate this high activity level and last longer that the traditional cobalt chrome knee.

Metal allergy patients: Because Oxinium is one of the most biocompatible materials known to man, it is the only choice for patients who exhibit metal allergies. Patients who have needed total knee replacement surgery, but could not tolerate the cobalt chrome implants due to their nickel content, can now have the surgery they need to return to an active lifestyle without the fear of an allergic reaction.

 Three designs are available from Smith & Nephew, the Genesis, Journey and the Deuce knees in metal and oxinium.

In India, the Genesis & Journey knees in Oxinium have been introduced in South India. See story of a young patient who received an Oxinium knee replacement implanted through computer assisted surgery (CAS)here- We are now offering Oxinium knee replacement with custom fit surgery. In this procedure, the operation is tailor made to the individual patient's anatomy. Small incisions, less anesthesia time, trauma, bleeding and operation time are benefits to the patient. There is a small added cost for MRI scans and manufacture of patient specific cutting blocks. 

Watch a testimonial of a patient who received bilateral Journey knees here-
So if you need a more durable knee replacement, just mail us drvenkat@kneeindia.com and we will give you a quick appointment.