Dubai: A 60-year Saudi national who was hardly able to walk due to a severe form arthritis in the knee is on his feet again thanks to a knee replacement surgery carried out by Dr William Hodges at RAK Hospital.
Saud Al Malki flew from his country to Ras Al Khaimah as he was in pain, suffering from a typical case of severe arthritic ‘Arabic’ knee. He was suffering from severe bowing deformities along with the inability to fully straighten his legs in both knees for the past 12 years. This was diagnosed as severe osteoarthritis of his knees, a common disorder in the region.
Dr Hodge, the world renowned knee regenerative and reconstruction specialist who has also designed and patented the ‘Arabic Knee’ replacement, operated on the patient. After undergoing two complex consecutive surgeries, the patient began rehabilitation on the same day and quickly graduated from a walker to walking with cane. Two weeks later, Al Malki said he felt “10 years younger” and returned to his country. He is now actively pursuing his profession as an engineer.
Explaining the procedure Dr Hodge said: “These were complex surgeries to straighten and put knee implants in the correct position. Our goal was to bring the knee to its full extension and full normal flexion, and for that, we had to resurface the joint that was damaged. During surgery we capped both ends of his knee bones with new surfaces similar to what a dentist would do when ‘capping’ a badly decayed tooth. This capping with new surfaces allows for more fluidity of movement and pain relief. In all, the actual surgical procedure was approximately just more than an hour for each side.”
