Unlike conventional knee replacements, which use bone cement to fix the implant, cementless implants have a porous surface that allows the patient’s bone to grow into and secure the implant
Mumbai: When 70-year-old Prakash Waigankar was told he needed a total knee replacement, he sought opinions from several doctors. Cemented fixation remains the standard for knee replacement, but concerns over loosening have fuelled interest in cementless implants, particularly for younger patients, according to a 2021 review in the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics by New York-based Dr Amar S Ranawat.
Doctors advised surgery but offered him a newer option: a cementless knee implant, which they said was being performed for the first time in Mumbai. The pain is so much less than before,” he said. Prof Dr S Mohanty of KEM’s orthopaedic department, who performed the surgery, said the technique could become increasingly relevant as younger and more active patients undergo knee replacements. “There is one instance of cementless knee replacement being used in Delhi, after that it is Waigankar’s surgery,” said the doctors.
others advised him to wait While some recommended surgery. The Goregaon resident then turned to KEM Hospital in Parel, an institution he had known since childhood. “My left knee was bent, but now it is straight after the surgery. Unlike conventional knee replacements, which use bone cement to fix the implant, cementless implants have a porous surface that allows the patient’s bone to grow into and secure the implant. At KEM, the medical team led by Dr Mohanty and dean Dr Harish Pathak worked for a week to secure the first-in-Mumbai achievement; one of the first tasks was to order the customised implant for Waigankar from the Indian company, which arrived in four to five days.