Surgery with 'Golden Hands of Endoscopy and Joint Replacement' at Vinh International Hospital

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the common diseases, causing a lot of trouble for patients. Mild cases can be treated by losing weight, taking anti-inflammatory drugs, and having a reasonable exercise and living regimen. However, when the degeneration is severe, the joint is deformed, walking is difficult, and conservative treatment is ineffective, then artificial knee replacement is a solution that brings many benefits to patients.

Ms. NTP, 58 years old, in Hung Dung, Vinh City, has had pain in both knees for many years now, making it difficult to walk and unable to walk far. On X-ray and CT scans, there are typical signs of severe knee osteoarthritis (grade IV) with the following signs: Articular cartilage wear, narrowing of the joint space, joint spurs, and left lower limb axis deviation. Through preoperative diagnosis, conservative treatment was ineffective in this case, so the doctor recommended artificial knee replacement.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Khanh coordinated with the Vinh International Hospital team to successfully perform artificial knee replacement surgery for the patient. Photo: Kim Chung

With the smooth, professional coordination of the Vinh International Hospital team, the 40-minute surgery went smoothly, and the surgical injury was consistent with the preoperative diagnosis.

At the same time, Mr. V. D. T, 66 years old, from Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh province, came to Vinh International Hospital for examination with limited extension and elevation of his left arm, with a history of shoulder injury 2 years ago. Information on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the patient had a large tear in the left rotator cuff, including the subscapularis tendon and the suprascapularis tendon. Arthroscopic shoulder surgery to suture the rotator cuff was the most optimal method for this case.

When performing arthroscopy on the shoulder joint, the injury assessment was consistent with the image on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): The entire tendon was torn, retracted, and rubbed against the edge touching the shoulder blade, accompanied by a lot of tendon contraction.

With severe and complicated injuries, it is very difficult to suture and pull the tendon back to the normal anatomical position, the surgical team performed a 2-row suture technique: The first row sutured through the tendon, fixed and pulled the tendon back to the desired position, the second row used anchoring thread to fix the head of the humerus. After 60 minutes, the surgery was successful, the tendon was sutured back to the anatomical position.

The application of shoulder arthroscopy is a routine surgery to treat rotator cuff diseases, recurrent shoulder dislocations, shoulder arthritis, osteoarthritis, limited shoulder joint mobility or subacromial space stenosis. In addition to the advantages of this treatment method: small incision, less pain, quick recovery, shoulder arthroscopy also brings many benefits to patients such as during the surgery, the doctor can observe all components in the shoulder joint, assess the damage and prescribe treatment immediately through endoscopy.

In recent times, Vinh International Hospital has cooperated comprehensively with Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, successfully diagnosing and treating serious and complicated diseases for many patients. Photo: Kim Chung

In the first days after surgery, both patients were treated to stabilize their wounds, reduce inflammation, and reduce swelling. At the same time, good pain relief was provided so that the patients could move early.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Khanh - Deputy Director of the Institute of Orthopedics and Trauma, Head of the Department of Upper Limb and Sports Medicine - Viet Duc Friendship Hospital - The person who "set a record" with more than 10,000 arthroscopic knee surgeries out of a total of 30,000 surgeries he performed in 20 years of practice. Deputy Director of the Institute of Orthopedics and Trauma, Head of the Department of Upper Limb and Sports Medicine coordinated with a team of doctors and nurses at Vinh International Hospital to directly perform surgery on the above patients.

Doctor Khanh commented:“One day after surgery, patient P. (knee replacement) was able to sit up, and on the second day he was able to do early rehabilitation in bed. After three days, when the drainage tube was removed, the wound was stable, and the patient was able to practice walking with a walking frame.

With patient T. (shoulder arthroscopy), the next day he was able to sit up immediately and exercise the joints of the hand, fingers, elbow, and wear a shoulder brace to support the tendons to heal well for at least 6-8 weeks after surgery. Although the surgery was successful, to achieve the desired results, good cooperation from the Rehabilitation doctor and active practice from the patient after surgery are needed.

At Vinh International Hospital, the two departments of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation work very well together, providing the best recovery conditions for patients.

Through comprehensive professional cooperation with Viet Duc Friendship Hospital - the largest surgical center in Vietnam, Vinh International Hospital has successfully diagnosed and treated serious and complicated diseases for many cases; helping patients to end pain and return to normal life soon./.