Total Knee Replacement Tkr Cost In South Africa

Weight gain, decreased endurance, cardiac and pulmonary conditions are all concerns for people who put off joint replacement for too long.In patients who wait too long, the osteoarthritis deteriorates their function.

Typically, knee replacement patients are able to leave the hospital within 5 days depending upon the procedure, whether one knee or both the knees are getting replaced.

Usually the life of an implant is 20-25 years, hence, the concern of revision surgery is not that bothersome.

Four recent technology includes computer-assisted total knee replacement, minimally invasive surgery, painless surgery, and stitchless surgery.

Consult your doctor one week before the surgery. You can also let the case manager know about the medications, they can double check with the treating surgeon.

US made FDA approved implants are used.They are of two types coated and non-coated made up of cobalt.

Some signs which shows that you need to go for knee replacement surgery are if your knee pain is getting more intense and frequent, you are having limited mobility and your are noticing swelling in your knees and it becomes difficult for you to do your daily activities.

The most common age to undergo knee replacement surgery is 65 years or above.

Having pain for the first two days after surgery is common, maximum pain which you will have after surgery is from surgical incision and dissection and you will be prescribed with strong painkillers.  Surgery is usually painful in the first 48 hours and then the patient will be more comfortable.

Total knee replacement surgery is the solution for arthritis and it is done with the aim getting relief from pain and resumption of activity.

Before proceeding for the surgery you will be advised to do some blood and urine test to make sure that you are fit for the surgery.  These all tests should be completed seven to ten days before surgery. If you got any infection or you are under any medications then you should inform your doctor regarding it.

The surgery lasts less than an hour. Its is of three different types.The standard incision most widely used in total knee replacement surgery is the midline incision.

Typically, knee replacement patients are able to leave the hospital within 5 days depending upon the procedure, whether one knee or both the knees are getting replaced.

The blood loss during the surgery is minimal, during the surgery there is no need of blood transfusion but sometimes it is needed after surgery. In some cases there can be a need of blood transfusion considering hemoglobin level.

Total time taken for knee replacement surgery is one to three hours, in this surgery a cut is being made in the front of your knee  called knee cap and then the damaged ends of your thigh bone and skin bone are cut away.

Two types of anesthesia is most commonly being used for the surgery first is spinal anaesthesia with epidural analgesia which works by numbing the legs and second is general anaesthesia. You are also given medicines to relax.

• Ans. The surgeon makes an incision across the front of your knee to gain access to the patella, once your knee is open, the surgeon rotates the patella outside the knee area.
• Once the surgeon has opened up and exposed your knee joint, they will carefully measure your bones and make precise cuts using special instruments. The damaged bone and cartilage from the end of the femur is cut away
• The surgeon attaches the metal femoral component to the end of your femur and uses bone cement to seal it into place.
• The surgeon removes damaged bone and cartilage from the top of the tibia and then shapes the bone to fit the metal and plastic tibial components.

It will take some time before you can walk on your own after knee replacement surgery, you will need 4 to 8 weeks to walk. You have to do physical rehabilitation after knee replacement surgery, this will help in strengthening the muscles of your knees.

You may have pain, swelling, infection and bone fracture after knee replacement surgery. The most common complication after surgery is pain.

The average recovery time from knee replacement surgery is approximately six months, but it can take roughly 12 months to fully return to physically demanding activities.

Physiotherapy will not be an unpleasant or painful experience for you. Physiotherapy is sometimes needed to strengthen the weak muscles near your knee joint and to also improve the movement of new joint so that you can also learn walking.

Diabetes doesn't seem to raise risks after knee replacement.Increasing age and history of cardiac disease increases the risk of cardiac complication after TKR.

If you have high blood pressure and if it is under control, there is no reason to worry about not having a safe and successful surgery.Even if your blood pressure becomes elevated during surgery you will be given intravenous medication to reduce it.

Consult your cardiologist if you are planning to undergo the surgery beacuse some medicine doses are modified accordingly.

It is not mandatory but if the patient is willing for physiotherapy he/she can take it for 2-3 weeks post-surgery. The physiotherapy is provided to the patient during hospitalization and the patient learns the exercises to be done post-discharge.

It is recommended after 6 weeks of the procedure.

No, the bandage is removed after the surgery and a waterproof dressing is applied for 24 hours.

A person can start community walking within 2 weeks and can climb the stairs after 4-5 days and driving after 4-6 weeks.

Patient is independent and ambulant within 4-5 days of surgery. Within 24 hours of surgery the patient is made to stand.

All implants are MRI compatible. An implant card is given to the patient that can be shown at airport check.