Man suffering from osteoarthritis gets "golden knee" implant

In a rare surgery, a 65-year-old man, suffering from acute osteoarthritis, was successfully transplanted with a 'golden' knee implant at a private hospital here.
Munish Joshi's left knee was replaced by an implant made of seven layers of Zirconium which is close to gold and looks like the precious yellow metal, the doctor said.
The surgery was performed last week and the patient is moving normally now, he said, claiming that it was a first in Rajasthan's history of medical science.
Due to uncontrolled diabetes, Joshi's body rejected other implants which were causing acute infection and allergy. The problem was solved with the 'golden knee' replacement, the doctor said.

Routine implants are made up of cobalt, chromium and nickel which cause infection or allergy in certain patients. But this 'golden' implant which costs Rs 40,000 more than the normal ones was inert and resistant to causing metallic allergy and rejection, Dr Jhurani claimed.
Due to its unique make there is 70 per cent reduction in oxidation level in the implant which means slower ageing of the joint, he said, adding the total cost of the treatment was Rs 1.80 lakh.