Osteoarthritis of the knee is a debilitating disease that results in decreased function and marked pain it can cost up to $5,000 per person annually for pain management1. Currently, it is estimated that there are over 10 million people affected by this disease in the United States and will grow to 30 million by 2020. In case of India it is expected to have 60 million people affected by arthritis out of which more than half will involve severe knee joint arthritis. Furthermore, as the natural history of osteoarthritis progresses to the end-stage degenerative joint disease, many patients often require Total Knee Replacement (TKR). Current incidence of TKR in USA is 136 per 100,000 per year. If these rates are applied to emerging country like India the numbers are staggering and reach as high as incidence of TKA at about 2 million procedures per year and expected to grow up to 4 to 5 million per year by 2025. Cost of managing these patients, represents a tremendous economic burden to the healthcare system in India.
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