Treatment of Knee Arthritis III-IV Degree in Israel

A person suffering from osteoarthritis (arthrosis) of the knee joint experiences pain in the knee and impaired joint function. Over time, the symptoms aggravate. When knee function deteriorates sharply, and the pain becomes constant and unbearable, it is better to replace the joint with an artificial endoprosthesis. In Israel, this surgery is one of the most common ones. This country performs 7-10 thousand surgical interventions to replace large joints every year. You can contact one of the medical centers in Israel to have a high-quality joint replacement surgery and with minimal health risks.

Who may need knee replacement surgery?

The main categories of patients with arthrosis who require knee replacement with an artificial endoprosthesis include:

• Patients with resistant to treatment pain in the knee, which occurs at least once a week, does not disappear after using drugs or non-drug treatment, has been disturbing patients for at least 3 months
• Defects in the articular cartilage on the adjacent cartilage surfaces ("kissing" defects) confirmed by X-ray, MRI scan or arthroscopy
• Significant deterioration in the quality of life due to limited physical activity

The additional indications for knee replacement surgery:

• Person cannot walk long distances, stand long, walk stairs
• Deformed axis of the limb
• Unstable knee joint
• Sharply limited range of motion in the knee
• Person suffers from pain or discomfort when squatting or performing hygiene measures
• Knee problems interfere with work
• Problems with the use of transport (a person cannot drive a car, move around the city by public transport)
• Person is forced to change his profession due to the problems with the knee
• Decreased physical activity due to the problems with the knee leads to obesity and somatic diseases (diabetes mellitus, pathologies of the cardiovascular system)

Basically, the knee is replaced in patients after 50 years. Until this age, doctors try to postpone the surgery whenever possible. This is due to the fact that the service life of the endoprosthesis is limited. In addition, in young patients, the artificial knee wears out faster due to high physical activity. Therefore, up to 50 years, doctors usually resort to other surgery that can delay the need for joint replacement for 10-12 years.

Knee replacement surgery options

Depending on the affected parts of the knee joint, patients with arthrosis can undergo the following types of joint replacement surgery:

• Partial (unicondylar) – plastic repair of one part of the femorotibial joint
• Total knee replacement – replacement of femorotibial joint with patellofemoral joint, and sometimes with the patella

Endoprostheses can be rotating, constrained, partially constrained, and unconstrained. The type is chosen individually, based on the patient's requirements for the functionality of the knee after surgery, his lifestyle, age, state of health, and body mass.

The fixation of the components of the endoprosthesis can be cement or cementless. If doctors perform the total knee replacement, the cement type of fixation is used more often.

Best orthopedic clinics in Israel

Here are the most suitable medical centers for knee replacement in Israel.

Rabin Medical Center. The hospital achieves the lowest risk of infectious complications during knee replacement. It uses an innovative approach, i.e. the bones and cartilage are dissected with the disposable tools made by the manufacturers of artificial joints.

Sourasky Medical Center. It is one of the best clinics for knee replacement in Israel. The medical center employs more than a thousand doctors. The Orthopedic Department performs hundreds of large joint replacement surgical procedures every year. The Sourasky Center offers the largest Rehabilitation Clinic in the country. Here patients can undergo rehabilitation after knee replacement.

Rambam Medical Center. The hospital offers medical help to 2 million residents of the country. It also functions as a hospital for the armed forces of Israel, the United Nations and the United States. The hospital is accredited by JCI (the "gold standard" of medical services). The Orthopedic Department at the Rambam Medical Center performs minimally invasive surgery for knee replacement through a 5 cm incision. To place the prosthesis accurately, doctors use a computer navigation system.

University Hospital Hadassah. Doctors of the hospital apply a unique technique for knee replacement, with the use of equipment based on a gyroscope and Wi-Fi. The new technology allows making an incision in the bone tissue at the perfectly right angle. The hospital uses the IASSIST personalized guidance system, which was developed by Zimmer, a leading manufacturer of artificial joints. The hospital has state-of-the-art equipment and quickly introduces innovative methods of joint replacement surgery into the clinical practice. The International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopedic Surgery has announced the Department of Orthopedic Surgery  at the Hadassah Medical Center as the Center of Excellence. Each year, the hospital performs at least 250 operations to replace the knee joint.

Assuta Hospital. The hospital practices an individual selection of the knee joint based on Signature Knee technology. This is especially important for the patients in whom it is difficult to achieve perfect compatibility of the artificial joint with the tissues of the lower limb due to their significant deformation. A few weeks before the knee replacement surgery, doctors scan the patient's knee and the images are sent to the United States. The specialists in the US make an individual artificial joint, which will serve for a long time.

Doctors of the Assuta Hospital annually perform about 20 simultaneous replacements of two joints at once. As a rule, surgeons replace only one knee, and in six months, when the patient recovers, if necessary, repeat the operation to replace the second knee. The Assuta Hospital is the only hospital in Israel that can replace two knees within a single surgical procedure. The main advantage of this approach is that a patient with arthrosis should not undergo rehabilitation twice. He also does not have to undergo surgery twice.

Why is it better to undergo knee replacement in Israel?

More and more medical tourists prefer knee replacement surgery in Israel. Here are some of the benefits of treatment in this country:

• The most advanced endoprostheses provide the full functionality of the knee joint and serve for decades.
• Doctors of many hospitals in Israel use minimally invasive access to implant an endoprosthesis. The knee replacement is performed through a 5 cm incision.
• Fast rehabilitation in the medical centers in Israel allows a person to recover faster after surgery.
• Doctors in Israel have vast experience in performing knee replacement surgery because they perform dozens of such interventions every year.
• In some clinics in Israel, one can undergo a surgical intervention to replace both knees at once.
• Medical centers in Israel have equipment for computer navigation, which allows placing an artificial joint with an accuracy of a millimeter. As a result, there is no axis deviation of the lower limb after surgery (this is the main reason for the endoprosthesis loosening).
• After surgery in the medical clinics in Israel, patients are provided with full care. They receive analgesic therapy, as well as undergo the treatment aimed at the prevention of complications.

When planning to travel to Israel, many medical tourists think about the price of treatment. The cost of orthopedic surgery in this country is lower than in the United States and Western Europe. Israel is the most profitable option in terms of the price-quality ratio of medical services.

Where to seek medical help from?

To undergo knee replacement in Israel, please, use the Booking Health service. We provide information about the hospitals in Israel, doctors, medical programs, and prices. You have the opportunity to compare the cost in different Orthopedic Clinics and book a program at the best price. Booking Health specialists will arrange your trip to Israel. We offer the following services and benefits:

• Selection of the hospital for treatment in Israel that specializes in knee replacement surgery

• Reduced waiting time for treatment in Israel
• Reduced cost of treatment in Israel – the price is reduced due to excluding additional coefficients for foreign patients
• Direct communication with the doctor
• Elaboration of a treatment program in Israel, taking into account the results of previously performed diagnostic tests
• Communication with the hospital after the completion of the medical program
• Organization of additional diagnostics, treatment or rehabilitation

Booking Health specialists provide high-quality services. We will take care about booking a hotel and airline tickets, as well as about meeting you at the airport and taking to the Orthopedic Hospital by car.