Key words: joint surgery; revision surgery; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; lumbar spondylolisthesis; knee osteoarthritis.
In recent years, urbanization has led to an increasingly serious aging population. There has been a corresponding increase in diseases associated with the elderly, such as osteoarthritis. Statistics show that 90% of elderly people over 60 years old suffer from degenerative joint diseases, which affect their daily life, resulting in inconvenience in walking, difficulty in climbing stairs, joint interlocking, swelling and pain, limb deformity, etc., seriously reducing patients’ life and quality of life.
Weight-bearing joints are more likely to develop osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis occurs when there is an imbalance between damage and repair in the joints, resulting in degeneration of joint cartilage and secondary osteophytes.
Examples include the hip, knee, ankle, foot, spine and commonly used joints such as the joints of the hand. Knee arthritis is the most common.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee
Pain: Constant dull pain, joint movement may be limited by pain.
Joint stiffness and clinging: stiffness when standing up after sitting for a long time.
Joint interlocking: The joint suddenly becomes stuck at a certain angle and cannot be extended or flexed, and it usually takes a long time to regain function.
Joint swelling: May be accompanied by increased local temperature, fluid and synovial hypertrophy.
Bouncing of joint movement (bone rubbing sound): may be due to cartilage loss and poor joint finish.
Joint deformity: Patients with advanced knee osteoarthritis often develop internal and external knee deformities, commonly referred to as “rotundity” and “X-leg”.
Treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee
General therapy: Rest, immobilization, and physical therapy cannot stop or reverse the disease process, but can delay the postponement of surgical treatment.
Medication: systemic and local medication to improve symptoms and reduce joint pain and joint mobility, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotective agents, intra-articular injections of sodium hyaluronate, etc. It can only relieve the symptoms and slow down the progress of the disease, but cannot reverse the structural lesions of the joint.
Surgical treatment.
Arthroscopic exploration, joint cleaning: has a diagnostic and therapeutic role, and is of value for patients with early mild osteoarthritis, especially with free bodies and limited cartilage damage.
Osteotomy: more widely used is high tibial osteotomy for internal derangement of the knee.
Artificial joint replacement: It can be applied to shoulder, elbow, wrist, interphalangeal, hip, knee and ankle joints, but total artificial hip and knee joint replacement is the most common.
Most artificial joints are made of metal and high-density polymer materials that follow the structure, shape and function of human joints. Arthroplasty is the removal of the worn and damaged joint surface and the implantation of an artificial joint like a dental brace to restore a normal smooth joint surface. For patients with end-stage osteoarthritis, prosthetic joint replacement is the way to preserve joint function, improve joint deformity, and enhance quality of life.
An increasing number of patients with severe knee disease are now being treated surgically with artificial knee replacements, and the surgical technique is quite mature. Over the past decade or so, the Department of Orthopedics of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital has relied on the advantages of personnel, technology and hardware to carry out a large number of knee joint replacement surgical treatments, accumulating a lot of successful experience and reaching an internationally advanced level of treatment technology. At present, the minimally invasive total knee joint replacement is carried out with a smaller surgical incision of 1/3 to half, which reduces the damage to soft tissues, speeds up the recovery process and achieves satisfactory results. With the advantages of a large general hospital, the Department of Orthopedics of the General Hospital has also carried out joint replacement for a variety of complex joint diseases. A large number of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and other concurrent severe joint lesions have been treated with artificial joint replacement surgery, regaining the vitality of their joints and restoring their quality of life and confidence. Qiu Huayan, New Paper reporter
Director of the Department of Orthopedics of the General Hospital of Medical University, a national candidate for the “New Century Hundred Million Talents Project” and a “Special Allowance Expert of the State Council”, who has visited and studied in Japan, Australia and the United States.
Specialties: spine surgery and joint surgery, especially specializing in minimally invasive surgery for lumbar disc herniation, artificial knee joint replacement, lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, spinal cord injury, scoliosis, and arthroscopic meniscus and cruciate ligament injury.
The Department of Orthopedics of the General Hospital of Medical University was founded in the 1950s and was presided over by Professor Liu Runtian back then, and now, by Professor Feng Shiqing. It is currently located in the third inpatient building with 147 beds and is divided into three wards: joint, spine and trauma. It is a key discipline of medical university with spine surgery and joint surgery as the focus and trauma surgery as the foundation, and comprehensive development of medical treatment, teaching and research.
The joint ward treats patients with various bone and joint diseases and has 49 beds. It mainly performs various joint surgeries, such as joint orthopedic surgery, total hip and total knee artificial joint replacement, various types of joint replacement and revision, and minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery. It is composed of Professors Feng Shiqing and Zheng Yongfa and Associate Chief Physicians Yang Fengshun, Hou Bo, Liu Tao, Li Hui and Ruan Wendong. Among them, Professors Yang Fengshun and Hou Bo specialize in artificial hip joint replacement and revision; Li Hui and Liu Tao specialize in adult hip and knee joint replacement and revision; Ruan Wendong specializes in the treatment of shoulder joint disorders; in addition, Prof. Feng Shiqing and Director Liu Tao have deep attainments in minimally invasive arthroscopic treatment of joint diseases and joint trauma.
The ward implements holistic care, emphasizes overall assessment and individualized care, and provides comprehensive rehabilitation guidance for patients. Since the establishment of the ward, nearly 1,000 high-level joint replacement and revision surgeries of various types have been performed, and the quality of treatment is satisfactory.