Getting gold knee caps seems to be the latest trend catching on in Hyderabad ! For a high 2 lakhs this knee cap has 7 layer coating of – Zirconium nitride over the traditional cobalt-chrome product. It is the nitride that gives the ‘yellow’ implant look and not actual gold plating that people think.

Experts across Hyderabad are saying that this technology, while expensive is proving to be better than ordinary knee caps for patienst suffering from end stage arthiritis and its longevity is better too. The technology for this implant was developed in 2003, and is anti-allergic in nature. However, even patients who don’t have allergic reactions are opting for this implant due to its effectiveness.

“When compared to the metal used in conventional knee surgery, the gold knee implants offer more advantage in terms of comfort and stability.” says Achanala Srividya a physiotherapist whose 55 year old mother suffered from Osteoarthiritis recently got ‘gold’ knee caps despite not having any metal allergy. Dr. Krishna Kiran Echampati  (Director) at Max Cure Hospitals also adds, “Though traditionally its meant for patients with metal allergy, it can benefit patients with severe arthiritis. The new product minimizes wear and tear in the long run.”

The hospital conducts an average of 100 such knee replacements each year. Dr. N Somasekar Reddy (Chief Orthopedic Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals says that there are no immediate plans to make sure everyone gets this gold knee replacement done and that the reaction to cobalt and nickel in conventional knee replacement prosthetics is quite rare. He also clarified that the longevity of gold knee caps is still being studied.

Original Post: TOI (Hyderabad Edition)

Image Credits: TOI

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