More than 200 hip and joint surgeries have been carried out at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu (NOHE) since 2008, Chief Medical Director Dr. Cajethan Nwadinigwe has said.
Nwadinigwe, who was briefing journalists on the activities of the hospital, expressed delight that with the effort of the medical team, such surgeries have become a routine.
He explained that arthritis is the failure of a joint, adding that any joint in the body could be affected, but more commonly the weight bearing joints like the knees and hips.
He said there are different types of arthritis, namely: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout arthritis and septic arthritis, among others.
He said, “Osteoarthritis is the more common type of arthritis which can be primary or secondary. Treatment options include drug therapy, physical therapy and load reduction. Surgery is indicated where conservative measures fail, or late presenters with badly damaged joints. Surgical options include realignment osteotomy, arthroplasty and arthrodesis”.
He stated that Arthroplasty, otherwise known as total joint replacement is an operation in which a diseased joint is replaced with prosthesis to relieve pain and improve function and has been ongoing at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu (NOHE) since 2008.
“The hospital has an arthroplasty team which carries out total hip replacement and total knee replacement surgeries on patients who have end stage arthritis unresponsive to conservative management; the native surfaces of hips and knees which are diseased are removed and replaced with prosthesis,” explained the surgeon.
The benefits of hip joint and replacement include; pain relief, improvement in function, ýdecreased intake of drugs and so less complications from non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, and improved quality of life, he remarked.
He continued: “The peculiarity of the cases that present in our hospital is the complexity of the hips and knees; patients in our environment wait until they are almost bedridden before seeking help from the hospital. As such the cartilages and ligaments are badly degenerated with presence of bone defects and joint deformities. These make for a complex primary knee or hip. This becomes a challenge to the Surgeon and, the physiotherapist who rehabilitates the patients.
“Total joint replacement is commonly performed on the elderly group of patients which is the group that presents more with Osteoarthritis. Increasingly though, the younger age groups are presenting for arthroplasty surgery particularly following mismanaged injury to these joints. Of note to the public is the importance of presenting early to the hospital following joint pains or joint trauma for early and proper management of the condition. Patients are however, advised to take the advantage of the availability of arthroplasty services in our environment and reduce the recent trends of medical tourism in our country.
