What to know about prosthetic surgery:
What is joint prosthesis?
What do you expect from a good prosthesis?
Schedule
What is considered before prosthetic surgery?
What is prosthetic surgery like the hospital milkman?
What happens early after surgery?
What are the red alarms after surgery?
Prosthesis is an artificial joint that is now applied to replace a joint that cannot be worked. Arthroplasty i.e.operations to make the surface of the joint workable can be performed for many joints. With many types of surgery, it is aimed to make the patient independent and painless again.
Prosthetics combine material science with medical science. Tribology is the science and engineering of interactive surfaces that are on relative motion. It includes the study and implementation of friction and wear principles. As a result of the work of these two branches of science for more than 100 years, there are several types of prosthetics today. Protheses do not consist of a single type of material. Multiple materials are put together according to their location.
Considering that each diverse human structure, size, bone and muscle shapes there are many different design needs. In the past, prosthetics are fastened to the bone with a substance similar to tooth filling (cement), and nowadays, thanks to the science of materials, prostheses are now coated with materials that can incorporate to the bone. The principles written here are true for patients who have prosthetic surgery for the first time, as well as those who have a need to change the prosthesis for a certain reason so called revision surgery.
What do you expect from a good prosthesis?
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Normal daily activity of the patient
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Normalization of range of motion
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The process of surgery is effortless and risk-free
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Lifelong or as long as possible
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It is expected to be the size suitable for the applied bone and to apply it to the articular surface in a fully matched manner. Today, with 3D modeling, personalized prosthetics can also be produced.
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It should be produced with today's best standards and must have at least 20 years of research and development knowledge behind it.
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Production and Packaging standards must have standards complied to ISO 7207 or similar.
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The prosthesis must have a history of use of at least 5-10 years and the results of their publications should be good.
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Bone must be good to hold on to, problems should be low due to friction.
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The surgeon must have sufficient experience in the prosthetic surgery and be used to the prosthesis to be used. Experience in prosthetic surgery includes not just applying the prosthesis by surgery but also experience of dealing with problems and complications.
What should the timing be like?
There are no restrictions on age.
The best time for prosthetic surgery is that medical or non-prosthetic surgery will no longer work.
In the past, the longer the expected prosthetic life of the cemented prosthetics, the late the thought that the better would be prevailed.
Today, it has been possible for prosthetics to improve the quality of life for many years (25 and above) and allow them to play sports. What should not be overlooked here is the condition of the muscles, ligaments and bone that will activate that prosthesis rather than the prosthesis to be made. As time goes on, the muscles lose strength, the bone density lessens and the ligaments harden. You can't get rid of these problems by changing the rubbing surface of the joint. Therefore, when the muscles, ligaments and bone are in good health prosthetic surgery results will also be good.
It is nmostly thought that prosthesis surgery is an elderly time surgery. Of course, no one wants to has a prosthetic out of the blue. But if you're 40 and your joint is not able to get you out of every aspect of life, what good would it do to suffer it until you're 60? After spending productive years of your life with painkillers, needles and movement, the idea of being prosthetic and relaxing doesn't feel healthy to me when one gets older. When you are unable to walk around easily, and if you wait years for a prosthetic surgery to be made, you lose the flexibility of muscles and ligaments, which means losing that movement. The prosthesis only corrects the friction process of the joint. It is the working balance of your muscles and important ligaments that provide the main movement. You can't get them back with a prosthetic. For example, if knee bending is now 80 degrees, even if you do prosthetics, it is now very difficult to improve it. You may not realize how impressed you are over time. Those who say old can no longer walk easily should remember that there are ones that can already run. There's a good saying in our language that "movement is abundance." Whatever happens, it is best to try to eliminate any condition, disease, habit as soon as possible, which makes you immobile, no matter what age you are.
Some people can walk long enough only to go to a short trip with the help of painkillers and needles. Now when they're afraid of being in need, then they start thinking seriously about getting prosthetic surgery. Unfortunately, prosthetic surgery at such a late age is more risky both for reasons such as heart conditions, diabetes etc and it is difficult to recover the muscles after surgery. Painkillers are not sugar, and long periods of use of them pose a lot of risks ,and over time, pain killers become insensitive. On the other hand advanced age is not an obstacle to surgery. Suffering has no age. Movements and walks that will increase after prosthetics will increase the quality of life. As a surprise most will think how easy was the surgery and regret not having it at an early age.
What is considered before prosthetic surgery?
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Report your medical history and medications (sugar, blood pressure, blood thinners, aspirin...) to your surgeon. Talk about your expectations from the prosthesis, find out what the prosthesis will give you and the potential risks.
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From preoperative surgery, measures should be taken for quick recovery after surgery.
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Simple exercises make the muscles better and make walking easy, learn and apply these simple exercises.
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Increasing drinking water reduces the risk of surgery
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The presence of infection should beinvestigated. A culture should be removed from the patient's nose and urinary examination should be performed. The results of infection examinations such as CRP, Sediimanation and full blood should be seen 1 week before surgery. If there is a risk, they should be treated before surgery.
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Pain control protocol should be started from the morning of surgery
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Postoperative exercises and recovery process should be learned. Learn how to use walking aids (walker, canadien, etc.).
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In some patients, toilet boosters, walkers, crutches, and toilet strapped places can be made for elderly patients.
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Preoperative patient risks should be minimized. Most of the conditions known as 'body refusal' of prosthesis are infection, i.e. because of germs, the prosthesis is loosened from the bone it clings to. If there are diseases such as sugar and goiter, it should be confirmed by consulting with the relevant sections. Fungi infections and dental problems should be treated if ever exist.
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Anesthesiology consultations
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Talk to the physician about the postoperative process, especially your concerns about pain.
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If you are using blood thinners, your surgeon will take the necessary precautions. Aspirin (ecoprin, coraspin) should be cut 5-7 days before surgery, replaced by another blood thinner.
How about the hospital process?
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You need to come to the hospital for at least 6 hours before surgery, completely hungry and without drinking fluids. In some blood pressure patients, blood pressure medication can be given with very little water on the same day morning. Hospitalization 1 day before elderly patients provide more preparedness.
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Pain control protocol begins before surgery
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If you are prosthetics for the first time, it will take 1-2 hours depending on the operation and the condition. This period can be extended up to 4-5 hours in prosthetic replacement or revision surgeries.
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It is possible to stand up and take the first steps on the same day or 1 day later according to the age and technique after surgery. In some patients, drenas placed in the surgical area with the aim of reducing blood collection are removed after 1 day.
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The length of stay in the hospital is between 1-4 days depending on the situation.
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Measures are taken against the formation of blood clots in the hospital. Exercise is also important in this regard. Early movement, blood thinners, sometimes leg compression tools can be used. These dilutors are used until the edema on the leg passes and the movement reaches a good level.
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If your muscles are good, you'll start walking without using unsupported (walkers) from week 3 at the latest.
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It is possible to drive in the 1st month of hip replacement. This period is longer in knee replacement.
What happens early after surgery?
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It makes it comfortable to have taken the necessary precautions at home when being discharged from the hospital. The toilet lifter provides ease of early movement in a slightly high bed.
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Preparing a patient bed at home usually prolongs walking and healing time. Exercise, walking and increasing movements every day is in place if your doctor is not specified due to a special condition.
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Vegetables, protein skilled foods should be weighted in postoperative nutrition, sugary foods, heavy spicy foods should not be taken.
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After the surgery, you may notice that the surgical area is increasing around the 3rd day. This is usually normal and depends on tissue edema and sometimes leaking bleeding.
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Use the walking assistants (walker, walker, cane, cane) as they show you.
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Your doctor may have banned some movements, such as squatting, bonding, for a certain period of time, find out exactly them and apply them.
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Make sure you do the given exercises correctly with the control of an eye from the outside.
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Physiotherapists improve the quality and speed of early recovery.
Red alerts after surgery:
In order to avoid any serious distress, you should call your doctor immediately if you are in the following situations:
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Insicion leaks
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shortness of breath or palpitations
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severe swelling of the leg,
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fall
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the onset of a pain that does not exist before
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weakness in foot or hand movements, numbness
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fainting
Are patients with prosthetics have to pay attention to?
Actually, there's no very strange measure-- Only people who don't already have prosthetics have to do things. It's better to be more sensitive as you have a serious distress and a post-labor prosthesis:
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instant treatment should be provided in all kinds of infections. Tooth decay should be removed in a short time. Caution should be taken against urinary infections. Don’t take any intramuscular close to the prosthesis site.
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Don't miss the check times recommended by your doctor.
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Do not give up exercise and sports
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Walk, swim and be active.
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Lose excess weights and don’t gain any weight.
Today, prosthetic surgery has been among the most frequent surgeries and this is completely related to the success of this surgery. No one can do a surgery that has not been successful for long periods of time. As with all business, if you choose the right time, right process and equipment, right people it will be much more easier and patients usually forget that they have prosthetic surgery after a while and go along with life.