Up and running at 68 post a successful knee replacement surgery

Treatment: Knee replacement (Total)
Provider: Fortis Healthcare Limited
Date: Feb 2015

The dream to be back on her feet was fast fading away for 68 year old Matshoko Emicie, who was bed ridden for the past three years after she developed Osteoarthritis in both her knees. It was not until she underwent a Bilateral Total Knee Replacement on February 14 at Fortis Memorial Research Institute that she believed she could chase her dreams.

It was a vicious cycle for this grandmother of three from Republic of Congo who slipped into depression post her diagnosis. Lying on bed she started hinging and added quick kilos to her already hefty frame and grew to over 145kgs. It was not until she underwent a Bilateral Total Knee Replacement at Fortis Memorial Research Institute that she believed she could be back home doing her daily chores and playing with the children.

Over a fortnight post her surgery, Emicie is back on her feet, showing steady improvement in her condition, explained Dr. J. B. S. Jaggi, Senior Consultant, Orthopedics at FMRI, who carried out both the surgeries on the same day.

According to Dr. Jaggi, the risks were high in her case subject to her condition. "Starting from arranging a special OT table to administering anesthesia (in the spine with regular needle) to reaching the affected bone under the thick layer of fat. The newly replaced joints were also specially designed so that their life span is enhanced" said Dr. Jaggi.

Obese patients have a greater risk of complications following Total Knee Replacement (TKR) Surgery, including post¬surgical infections, according to a new literature review recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). Because of complications, obese patients are more likely to require follow-up surgery (revision).

"To begin with, Arthritis is initially treated non-surgically. However in her case, Total Joint Replacement became necessary since the disease had progressed due to her age and aggravated by her obesity. She was advised to undergo a bariatric surgery prior to her knee surgery, but the patient was unwilling to take that path after a close relative died post complications in a bariatric procedure back home" said Dr. Jaggi who added that the rate of joint replacements in obese individuals has increased in the last few years.

The patient underwent Bilateral Knee Replacement on the same day since specialists at FMRI calculated the failure of a single TKR subject to her weight. "Operating both the knees separately would have meant that the patient would have to undergo the perils of operation twice, hence we decided that we would conduct both the TKRs on the same day" said Dr. Jaggi.