Tailored knee prostheses were implanted on Friday in Żory (Śląskie) to two 60-year-olds suffering from advanced gonarthrosis – a degenerative disease that prevents proper walking. They were prepared especially for these patients.
“The procedure using the innovative Visionaire technology allows you to implant endoprostheses perfectly suited to the patients’ bones and perform the procedure itself in less than 2 hours” – said Dr. Julisz Dec from the Sport Clinic, who performed one of the surgeries.
The basis of the Visionaire technology is very precise imaging diagnostics, thanks to which it was possible to create anatomically fitted prostheses to the bones of both patients. “In both men, we first performed X-ray diagnostics, obtaining an image of the lower limbs, and then an MRI, thanks to which we could assess the appearance of the joints and even slight changes to the millimeter,” said Dr. Dec.
“The thus obtained complete picture of the bone condition of both men was sent to Memphis in the United States, where engineers designed sterile prosthesis templates ideally suited to the patients’ bones. Implantation of an endoprosthesis was the last step in the 3-week treatment planning ”- he added.
As emphasized by Dec, the main advantage of this method is the optimal selection and placement of the prosthesis, and as a result, its longer life, reaching even several dozen years. Improperly positioned denture wears out much faster. This method allows to reduce mounting errors by 20-30%. in the case of classic dentures up to 5 percent. – this is data from the literature – said Dr. Dec.
Friday’s surgeries were performed under a contract with the National Health Fund, but, as Dr. Dec admits, in the long run, these treatments must be financed by the patients themselves, because their implementation under the contract would risk a deficit of the facility. Although a single procedure is more expensive than the traditional method, looking globally, in the perspective of many years, it is not so, because the revision of a poorly fitted prosthesis after a few years is three times more expensive than the original operation. We must also take into account the greater social costs in this case – emphasized Juliusz Dec.
Friday’s surgeries were also minimally invasive, and their time was reduced to an absolute minimum, which in turn resulted in less blood loss and greater comfort and safety for both patients. In practice, all this means faster recovery for both men. Already on the day of surgery, they can get out of bed and take their first steps.
Patients aged 60 and 64 were operated on Friday in two rooms by dr Juliusz Dec and lek. med Mariusz Smolik, while the moderator of the procedure was a German surgeon prof. Carten O. Tibesku, a pioneer of this type of treatment in the world from the Sporthopaedicum center in Straubing. The operations took place as part of the scientific conference “Modern arthroplasty of the knee joint based on image preoperative planning”. (PAP)
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