Let's boogie and bone up on osteoarthritis

MANILA, Philippines -  Few things in life are as mortifying as being unable to get up from one’s bed, overtaken by crippling joint pain. According to a leading Filipino joint replacement surgeon, so many senior lives are wasted away because of the debilitating effects of osteoarthritis.

To raise awareness on joint replacement surgery, people who have experienced osteoarthritis will gather at the Manila Polo Club for “Boogie Nights-Keep on Dancing.” Sponsored by the Advanced Orthopedics for Joint Replacement (AOJR), it is the first-ever event and symposium in the Philippines for patients who have undergone joint replacement surgery.

The Department of Health estimates that some 11 million Filipinos suffer from various forms of arthritis, with osteoarthritis as the most common. Despite this, according to Dr. Paul Cesar San Pedro, vice president of AOJR, and one of the country’s well-trained and experienced hip and knee surgeons, “there’s a certain misconception among us Filipinos that osteoarthritis comes naturally with age. ‘Matanda na ako, arthritis lang ‘yan,’ when in fact osteoarthritis is a disease because you can see that not all elderly people have joint pains. Meron tayong lolo diyan who still runs at 80.”

Osteoarthritis occurs when the joint loses cartilage, which is responsible for frictionless motion, resulting in deformity, chronic pain, and reduced mobility.

“In this day and age, we don’t have to suffer from arthritis,” says Dr. Jose Fernando Syquia, head of AOJR and a fellow at Stanford University. Preventing or delaying the dreaded complications of arthritis is now possible through joint replacement surgery and the skill to perform it is already in the Philippines.

Dr. Syquia adds, “If they can’t get better with therapy, injection or medicines, they can get better with joint replacement surgery.”

Fear of surgery, however, is not uncommon. When the option of surgery is brought up in severe cases, there are times when “the patient tells the doctor that the pain is no longer there, and it’s true. But the reason is they don’t get up, they don’t walk, and they’re not active anymore. It will tax their health eventually and so many other diseases will soon follow,” reveals Dr. Benigno Agbayani, Jr. who graduated from the University of the Philippines and completed his fellowship at the Flinders University and Medical Center in Australia.

Many may not be aware that joint replacement surgery is one of the most successful procedures in relieving arthritic pain, with success rates ranging from 95 to 99 percent. Recovery period is dependent on each patient, but according to doctors, patients are able to sit and walk soon after the surgery. Some people may take a few days before they are able to walk but the patients are expected to be walking already before they leave the hospital. “The restoration of function comes eventually,” says Dr. San Pedro, to which Dr. Agbayani adds, “It will prolong your life, in a way.”

Advanced Orthopedics for Joint Replacement was established in 2008 with founders Drs. Syquia, Agbayani, San Pedro, and Dr. Rolando Angelo Ochoa (who was a fellow at Stanford University and is set to train in Switzerland this year). Dedicated to offer the best possible care in joint replacement surgery, the “joints guys” are proof that when great minds come together, wonderful things happen.

The group’s upcoming boogie event in Makati is a result of their curiosity about how their osteoarthritic patients have been doing after the surgery. After all is said and done about the urgency of the disease and the benefits of joint replacement procedure, what the surgeons want to demonstrate is that the patients are the ones who actually matter.

“We want to show them that we appreciate who they are,” Dr Syquia emphasizes. “We want them to get to know other people who have undergone the same procedure, to show those who are just recovering that they will be able to go back to what they used to do because they will see others who have been operated on one or two years ago, dancing, doing certain things that they never thought magagawa nila.”

For more information on joint replacement and the event-symposium, e-mail aojr@ymail.com” aojr@ymail.com and visit www.aojr.ph.