Emirati receives first titanium knee replacement in the Middle East

The titanium joint provides greater flexibility and stability but was previously only available in North America

An Emirati woman donated her kidney to her brother in Dubai's first live transplant surgery. Getty

Patients in the UAE seeking knee replacements will no longer need to travel overseas to receive a titanium joint.

The first knee replacement surgery of its kind to be carried out in the Middle East has taken place in an Abu Dhabi hospital, allowing the Emirati patient to return to his active lifestyle.

The titanium-coated knee replacement joint used provides greater flexibility and stability than typical cobalt chrome implants. This type of prosthesis was previously only available in the US and Canada.

The patient, Mohamed Al Balooki, was operated on by Dr Rashed Al Shaeel, a sport and reconstruction arthroplasty surgeon, at Healthpoint hospital last month.

“I was initially resigned to the fact that I would have limited movement for the rest of my life. However, I am now able to enjoy all of the activities I used to, and it feels really natural; I can’t tell the difference between my old knee when it was healthy, and this on,” said Mr Al Balooki.

While patients are usually discouraged from running and high-impact activities post-knee replacement, Dr Al Shaeel said the new prosthesis’ unique design allows “more active members of the community to maintain the lifestyle they had prior to the degeneration of their knee joints.

“Whereas previous prosthetic knee designs allowed either good stability but with limited motion, or good motion with poor stability; this new pivot-medial knee replacement allows both excellent range of movement and complete stability within a shorter period of [recovery] time,” said Dr Al Shaeel.

The prosthesis’ titanium niobium nitride coating will also enable patients with metal sensitivities to receive the surgery with a lower risk of rejection.

Mr Al Balooki can expect to enjoy his newfound comfort for decades to come. “The knee has been shown to have good longevity, with proven survivorship of up to 20 years,” Dr Al Shaeel said.