The Hindu : New Delhi News : New technique for total knee replacement

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 07, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

New technique for total knee replacement

Staff Reporter

Promises to shorten hospital stay, improve knee joint stability

NEW DELHI: Promising to shorten hospital stay, improve knee joint stability and cause fewer post-operative complications, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Friday announced installation of a surgical navigation system for total knee replacement surgery.

"Total knee replacement is an extremely successful way to treat patients suffering from severe knee pain and the new surgical navigation technology that we have in place greatly enhances our ability to restore a range of knee functions and return patients to normal activity," said Dr. Naveen Talwar, Joint Replacement Surgeon at the hospital.

This latest system uses an infrared camera and markers along with unique instruments tracking software to continually monitor the position and mechanical alignment of the implant components relative to the patient's knee anatomy. Wireless instruments send data pertaining to knee movement to a computer guiding the surgeon with the optimum angles, lines and measurements needed to align the prosthetic knee with the patient.

"It is like having a powerful surveyor's tool in the operating room. With it we can give a patient a new knee that has the best possible strength, stability and range of movement, even in difficult anatomic situations," said Dr. Talwar.

One side benefit of the new knee navigation system is that it eliminates the need for pre-operative X-rays or CT scans of the patient.

Experience also shows that the system leads to shorter hospitalisation, fewer post-operative complications and improved joints stability.

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