Dubai: There is better news than two-minute noodles. You can actually get your knee replaced in 10 minutes flat and walk in two hours now!
The RAK Hospital has signed a partnership with Shalby Hospitals, India, and the founder and chairman, Dr Vikram Shah, who conducts the ‘zero technique’ ten-minute Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery will begin conducting the first such surgery in RAK within six weeks!
Dr Shah explained the process: “Normally, surgeons take approximately two hours to conduct a TKR surgery. The usual incision is about seven inches, but my cut is smaller, about 4 inches. When I cut less, there is less bleeding, less pain, and no requirement for blood transfusion, all of which accelerate recovery. I do the surgery under spinal anaesthesia which makes recovery quicker.
Elaborating on the zero technique he said: “I eliminate all occasions of delay that surgeons usually have. Surgeons tend to hold several trials of the joint which takes up at least 15 minutes of extra time. When I make the incision, I complete the soft tissue balancing immediately and after placing the knee only require one trial. My patients begin walking in two hours and climbing steps in seven hours and are discharged from hospital in three days.”
The zero technique is a revolutionary new technique that involves prior planning, implant selection, surgical technique planning and patient counselling, among other things, he adds. He has also developed the OS Needle (orthopaedic surgeon’s needle that can pass through both bone and soft tissue easily, reducing surgery and recovery time considerably.
His success rate has been high and Dr Shah has conducted 50,000 TKR surgeries so far. He and his team conduct seven such surgeries each day on an average and 600 in a month.
Dr Raza Seddiqi, Executive Director of RAK Hospitals and CEO of Arabian Health Care Group, said: “Medical tourism is booming at our hospital as we receive thousands of tourist patients each month. It is important for us to get experts in different fields to meet the demand and we feel TKR is a surgery which is much in demand and this revolutionary new technique will be a great attraction for our patients.”
