There are many cities in the western countries that surprisingly have a lot of senior citizens commuting using buses to get to different towns. Most of these are towns near the beaches, which are quite a distance, where old retirees live alone while having a good rest in the last period of their lives. They do not want to be a burden to their families so the number of these oldies living alone is increasing as time goes by.
As it is the culture of many foreign countries, a lot of senior citizens live alone. They have no one to look after them or even relatives to live with. When they get sick and get difficulties in walking, it will have a big impact on them. When the knee joints degenerate and they start to feel the pain as they walk, they do not hesitate to see the doctor, thus, undergoing an operation to put in the artificial knee joint that helps them to be able to walk again. They do not usually wait until the knee sags or bows too much.
The operation to change to artificial knee joint in the foreign country
Usually it is the patients who ask for the operation in order for them to have their normal lives back. The artificial knee joint is made from a premium quality metal and plastic which can be put into a human flesh without body resistance. It is a Medical Grade, and it is much more expensive than the Engineer Grade that we use in the industry.
The scar of the artificial knee joint operation
The artificial knee joint is designed to be as close in shape as the real knee joints. The knee joints consist of the surface of the joints of the thigh bone (Femur) where it touches the bone of the leg end (Tibia). They are connected with the surface of the kneecap (Patellar). When in good condition, this joint surface will be smooth and slick in order to reduce the friction pressure when we bend or stretch the knee. This is to prevent the joint from heating up and getting inflamed which eventually damages the joint surface.
The severely degenerated knee joints, narrow gap between the joint surface, with the sprouting bone and the knees are also bowed
Similar to the real knee joint, the artificial joint has the metal surface that is very smooth and so shiny that the doctor can even use it as a mirror. There is also a Polyethylene plastic, which is also smooth and slick on the surface of the metal to prevent them from touching each other.
The annual exhibition of the bone surgery tools in Australia
The development of the artificial knee joint is like the development of the car — it gets better and better every year. A new car model has more features for us to choose from. The artificial knee joints, in the present, also offer many designs to suit the patient’s condition, i.e. the model that gives Maximum Flex and Extension, the model with more Rotation Degree (Closer to the original joint); there is also one model that is specially made for female patients. There are more leading companies that conducts research and compete in the manufacturing of the artificial knee joints.
The artificial knee joint, though, is not a permanent thing. After its use in daily life for some time, it will wear out. Luckily, the wearing is only at the plastic surface which can be replaced by a small surgery.
To get a good result when changing to artificial knee joints, you need to know how to maintain them. You are not to put hard load on the joints, not to bend the joints to sit on the floor or lift heavy stuff. It is also imperative to regularly exercise to have a strong muscle around the knee so that the bumping pressure on the joint is reduced. Keeping the wound clean in very important. An artificial knee joint is a foreign thing in the body so it is also prone to infections. When we have infected wounds on the skin, decaying tooth or having tooth extraction, we need to be very cautious not to get any infection since it can get into the blood stream and could accumulate around the artificial knee joint. This will stimulate the knee tissue to get infected. As a prevention measure, take the anti-infection medicine before you go to see the dentist or when you get a skin infection. Take good care of your artificial knee joints so they will stay longer with you.
