SUBANG JAYA, April 11 – The health care industry in Malaysia continues to evolve to meet patient needs. A team of experts from Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) recently made a breakthrough when they performed a Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery procedure as a day care service.
This revolutionary procedure was the first of its kind in Malaysia, enabling patients to go home on the day of their surgery. Coupled with a complete rehabilitation programme from hospital to home, patients are able to recover and return to their daily lives quicker than before.
The TKR procedure is commonly performed on patients with degenerated knees, due to medical conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or post-traumatic arthritis as a result of an injury.
In such circumstances, TKR surgery is performed by resurfacing the knee and replacing it with an artificial joint.
Given the complexity of the procedure, conventional TKR surgery usually requires hospitalisation for three to five days. However, the revolutionary day care service allows for reduced hospitalisation, and will contribute towards greater savings for patients.
The breakthrough in day care TKR does not only eliminate the need for hospital stays, but also allows patients to recover and regain their quality of life in the comfort of their own homes.
The first case of day care TKR in Malaysia was performed on a 59-year-old patient in November 2021 by a team of experienced SJMC medical professionals. The patient had sought treatment from SJMC for her severe knee osteoarthritis.
“I would like to first extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire team. The combined expertise and strong support are the cornerstone of this remarkable success story,” said Dr Siva Kumar Ariaretnam, SJMC consultant orthopaedic surgeon and team lead.
“Certainly, our success stems from two decades of careful technical improvements and adaptations to improve the overall patient experience while lowering complication rates and improving longevity of the implants.”
“A great deal of care and technical expertise is employed to ensure that pain is reduced to allow rapid recovery and return to function after surgery. This is made possible by using a muscle-sparing approach into the knee and includes a superior wound-closure technique which I developed and am particularly passionate about,” he added.
“It is flexible enough to allow full knee flexion or bending immediately after surgery, and robust enough not to result in wound dehiscence or breakdown after surgery. This is then balanced with a novel intra-articular injection for effective pain management for the surgical procedure as well as post-surgery,” Dr Siva Kumar explained.
“Precise identification of the needed pain relief is critical in pain management. Another important factor is the management of bleeding and blood loss, to ensure that patients may return home without further bleeding from the wound.”
The procedure is followed by a complete rehabilitation programme alongside specialised physiotherapy sessions offered through SJMC’s in-house home-care nursing service, Home Connect Service, to ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care while recovering at home.
From performing the surgery to managing pain effectively and during the recovery phase, the entire process is managed efficiently by the team of experts at SJMC.
