The innovative surgery of knee joint degeneration is a hope for many patients. Thanks to it, patients who have been suffering from knee problems for many years will be able to avoid the risky procedure of putting on endoprostheses and quickly recover and recover fully physically.
Such an operationdegeneration of the knee jointswas performed for the first time in our country, at the Sports Medicine Center in Warsaw. And from that moment Poland has become one of the four countries in the world where such treatments will be carried out.
The tibia osteotomy is a hope for thousands of patients
The procedure (its official medical name is:osteotomycorrection of the tibia using an innovative plate compatible with the patient's bone tissue), carried out in an innovative technology called the System iBalance AKR (Axial Kneee Realignment ) is primarily a hope for thousands of patients suffering from degeneration of the knee joints. And the statistics in this regard are very bleak. Some say 10, others more than 30 percent. sick. And there will be more of them. Because, although this type of ailments most often occur in people aged 40 - 70, they get sick even younger, which is largely due to an unhe althy lifestyle.
Endoprostheses will become a thing of the past
It begins innocently - stiffnessjoints , most often in the morning, then pain when going down stairs, carrying heavier objects, lifting. Sometimes one of the first symptoms can be difficulty and pain trying to get your feet up and down. If joint contractures join these symptoms, the leg may shorten (which is quite common) and walking becomes more difficult. In even more advanced forms of the disease, the patient's activity is so limited that it becomes necessary, for example, to install special handles in the bathroom by the bathtub or the toilet, an elevated toilet or arms for putting on socks, so that basic hygienic and physiological activities are possible at all.
In the initial stage of osteoarthritis of the knees, treatment can be started with topical painkillers. However, it usually doesn't stop there. If symptoms persist after treatmentmedication, patients are usually referred to an orthopedic physician who may suggest surgery. Until now, there was the only option of surgical intervention - the insertion of an endoprosthesis. Although it relieves pain and makes it easier to move around, it does not allow you to fully regain fitness.
Implant instead of endoprosthesis
Breakthrough technology The iBalance AKR system allows you to avoid the procedure of replacing a joint with an endoprosthesis. It is a technique that allows for previously unattainable accuracy and safety for the patient. The innovation lies in the fact that the patient is replaced with an implant, the so-called bio-plate, compatible with bone tissue. It is made of a bone-friendly material and does not require removal after healing.
The implant is made of such a material that it is not necessary to introduce additional elements, such as metal plates or screws, used to insert the endoprosthesis. Standard endoprostheses, because they are rigid, do not guarantee joint stability, which is ensured by a 100% innovative implant. The tools used during the operation have also been modified. They are designed to prepare the surgical field as precisely as possible - first a fragment of the tibia is cut out, then a bio-plate is inserted in its place, fixing it with the so-called anchors.
High cost of tibial corrective osteotomy
A happy patient who was one of the first to undergo knee degeneration surgery was Jolanta Krupa (70) from Warsaw. She had been in pain for years. "I was desperate," she says. - The drugs did not help, and the two surgeries I went through, instead of helping, made the situation even worse. Fortunately, at the right moment, I found myself under the care of doctors from the Sports Medicine Center in Warsaw. And it was there that one day I was asked if I would like to undergo an innovative implantation procedure. I was scared, but I took a risk, because it was getting worse and worse. I learned that I would be operated on by an excellent orthopedist, Dr. Konrad Słynarski, and for this first Polish operation, Kelly Ammann, the creator of this method, and an American orthopedist, Dr. Tim Egan, would come especially from the United States. Well, how could you not take advantage of such an opportunity ?! The operation lasted an hour and a half and was successful. Now Ms. Jolanta only needs a few weeks of rehabilitation. Unfortunately, corrective operations of the tibia using the innovative plate are not reimbursed so far. The cost of the procedure, including the implant, is approx. PLN 8-10 thousand. zloty. However, considering the costs of treatment and rehabilitation in the case of standard surgery, officials from the National He alth Fund should noticethe advantages of this method and draw conclusions when developing subsequent reimbursement lists.