Symptoms of arthritis often cause annoyance to patients, with pain, difficulty walking, or limping as if one leg is shorter than the other. Particularly, symptoms of heat, swelling, and inflammation indicate that the lining inside is inflamed, producing abnormal joint fluid of poor quality, which may lead to acute inflammation. It is not necessary for both sides to be affected at the same time, but when one side deteriorates, the other often follows. If patients receive proper treatment in the early stages, there is a chance to slow down the deterioration.
Osteoarthritis of the Knee
The deterioration of the joints, especially the knee, is divided into 4 stages
- Stage 1 includes minor pain, no shape changes, but may have stiff, grinding sensations.
- Stage 2 cartilage begins to wear away, might need an X-ray examination.
- Stage 3 the surface of the joint starts to become rough, cartilage wears away more, leading to increased pain and grinding.
- Stage 4 cartilage is worn away throughout the knee joint, patients suffer greatly, and the likelihood of needing surgery is high.
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Causes of Arthritis
Arthritis can be caused by
- Joint abnormalities from birth
- Accidents
- Excessive weight
- Overuse of steroids
- Long-term alcohol consumption
- Severe impacts or heavy usage of hip or knee joints
- Diseases such as gout, rheumatoid, psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, which are genetic diseases, etc.
Treatment Approaches
Bangkok International Hospital’s Hip and Knee Center’s approach is “Total Joint Care” for comprehensive care covering all aspects of treatment to control the disease from getting worse. Comprehensive care includes:
- Collecting patient information and assessment and registration (Registration)
- Treatment planning includes nutrition, medication, exercise, physical therapy, surgery, education
- Monitoring and observing changes
- Planning for surgery and using “Digital template technology for creating patient-specific models” and “Computer-Assisted Navigating TKR” technology for joint replacement surgery guided by computer to place the prosthesis in the correct position for accurate treatment results
- Selecting materials for prostheses, including new types of ceramic and hyper porous metal, that integrate well with bone, resulting in faster bonding between bone and prosthesis, suitable for each patient
- Pain management (Pain Management) to prevent and reduce pain before, during, and especially after surgery
- Physical therapy by the rehabilitation medicine team
Surgical Approaches
A key strategy of the treatment at Bangkok International Hospital’s Hip and Knee Center is Customized Service, a comprehensive program for each patient from before to after surgery, equipped with modern surgical technology and operation rooms, including the use of “Surgical space suits” in the operating room to prevent infections from the surgeon’s breath, and one-way airflow (Lamina air flow and Positive pressure) that prevents dust and particles from spreading in the operation room and helps reduce the risk of infection at the surgical site.
Surgical methods depend on the suitability for each patient.
- Joint Preservation Surgery Joint Preservation
- Joint Replacement Surgery Joint Replacement
Surgical Technology
Beyond using “Digital template technology for creating patient-specific models” to ensure accurate planning for prosthetic size fitting each patient, the “Computer-Assisted Navigating TKR” technology is used for joint replacement surgery guided by computer to place the prosthesis accurately, minimizing placement errors, resulting in correct treatment outcomes, smaller scars, and accurate prosthetic sizes for each patient. The materials chosen for prostheses include new types of ceramic and hyper porous metal that bond well with bone, speeding up the bonding process between bone and prosthesis.
Pain Management
Because managing pain is another core principle of comprehensive treatment, Bangkok International Hospital’s Hip and Knee Center utilizes the Multimodal Preemptive Pain Management Protocol before and after surgery to prevent and reduce pain. This includes administering pain-relieving medication before, during, and after surgery to ensure patients do not suffer unnecessarily and can get up and start walking the following day without the nausea and vomiting associated with morphine-based painkillers.
Rehabilitation after Surgery
After surgery, physical therapists help patients with physical rehabilitation, thigh muscle exercises, using a CPM machine to adjust knee flexion angles, and practice walking with a Walker and daily routines independently, such as using the toilet. The Alter G (Anti Gravity Treadmill), which can relieve up to 80% of body weight, is used for rehabilitation to restore body movement after surgery.
Why Choose Bangkok International Hospital’s Hip and Knee Center
Because here, we…
- Provide close care by a team of expert physicians, before, during, and after surgery.
- Ensure precise clarity with computer software that helps plan surgery to fit the patient.
- Offer quick recovery with weightless walking practice (Alter – G).
- Reduce pain by practicing knee movement with cutting-edge technology.
- Guarantee quality with internationally standard prostheses.
