What is Knee Replacement?

Knee replacement, also known as arthroplasty, is a type of surgery to repair the patient’s knee joints, which are damaged mainly by rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. The procedure of knee replacement implies replacing the patient’s dented knee joint and bone’s contiguous affected part with an artificial joint or prosthesis for improved mobility. These prosthetic implants are different in design, material (metal, ceramic or plastic) and fixation, to be attached to the patient’s thigh bone, knee cap and shin bone with screws or a special bone cement.

Performed on more than 600,000 people every year across the globe, knee replacement is a popular routine surgery with a high success rate. While over ninety-five percent of people have reported complete satisfaction with their knee replacement procedures, about none out of ten people have experienced instant immediate pain relief after the surgery. Many patients, who are required to undergo a knee replacement surgery, consider India as the perfect location to get quality healthcare at affordable costs. Due to affordability of knee replacement cost in India, many foreign medical tourists sign up for a travel to India for the treatment, conducted by experienced orthopedic surgeons from reputed multi-specialty Indian hospitals.

Who needs Knee Replacement?

Initial knee problems are usually treated with a range of osteoarthritis treatment options but for people, who still feel excruciating knee pain, the doctor suggests knee replacement for reducing pain and improving mobility. If you are having the following problems, it may be time for you to have a knee replacement surgery:

• Severe pain in knees that confines your everyday activities
• Moderate or severe pain in knees when you rest, day or night
• Enduring knee inflammation and swelling, despite having proper rest or prescribed medications
• A bowing in or out of the leg
• Stiffness in knees
• No relief from pain from NSAIDs

What is the cost of Knee Replacement?

Considering all the usual costs included in the entire procedure of knee replacement surgery, its total cost in India starts from USD 4500, whereas the cost of this same procedure in the US is around USD 49500. If a patient requires both the knees to be replaced, the situation is also known as bilateral knee replacement, which is again available at a thirty-five per cent lower price in India. The average cost of surgically replacing both knees in India starts from USD 6500, whereas the cost of this same procedure in the US is around USD 55,000.

This means that medical tourists, who are coming to India for the procedure of knee replacement can save over seventy per cent of their hard-earned money, which surprisingly also includes expenditure on travel and stay. Not only is this surgery significantly cost-effective in India, the medical tourists from different countries across the globe also admire the world-class healthcare and hospitality provided here. Many such medical travellers share that their medical experience in India turned out to be a mini vacation, considering that the country is amongst the top tourism destinations in the world.

What does the cost of Knee Replacement depend on?

The cost of a knee replacement surgery in India depends on several factors like the following:

• The type of surgical approach, implant and pain relief medications
• The hospital and the city it is in
• Proficiency of the surgeon
• Sum of days spent in the hospital
• Cost of physiotherapy and rehabilitation
• Incidental costs
• Several other pre and post-operative costs

What are the inclusions and exclusions in a Knee Replacement surgery?

Generally, the cost of travel, stay in the hospital, surgical approach, implant and pain relief medications are included in the total cost of knee replacement surgery in India.

What are the chances I will have to pay extra for Knee Replacement?

There are some cases, wherein the overall knee replacement cost in India inevitably increases. In case of staged procedures, both knee replacement operations are done several months apart, as two distinct surgical events. The patient is required to stay in the hospital and undergo the process of rehabilitation twice in such cases. Also, after the surgery, patients are generally called to the hospital for physiotherapy sessions for around two weeks, costing him or her, an additional cost of USD 300 to 500.