11 implants allow woman to walk after 36 years

For 48-year-old Sachi, life remained painful for more than three decades. But now she can walk after a gap of 36 years and recalls the days when even getting up and standing for a few seconds was not possible.

Sports enthusiast Sachi had always participated in all gymnastic activities in her school. In 1978, she jumped and fell on her knees, while performing gymnastics. She was 12 years old at the time of the accident.

Her knees became stiff and her movement became limited. She was rushed to a hospital and it was found that she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that results in a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect tissues and organs, but principally affects flexible joints like knees, hips and shoulders.

It can lead to substantial loss of mobility if not treated adequately.

In Sachi's case, it affected both her knees and hip joints leading to restricted movement.

She felt an excruciating pain at every step she took. Despite being bedridden for almost three years, she started a play school in Allahabad in 1991.

Sachi took heavy dosages of pain killers to manage her new venture.

In 2012, she approached S.K.S. Marya, chairman and chief surgeon - Max Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences, Delhi.

He told her about knee joint implants. While normally 2.5 size implants are used in most of the cases, in Sachi's case, Marya imported the smallest implant available for joint reconstruction namely size 1 implant.

In July 2013, she underwent the first surgery in the hip joints. The left and right knees were operated in December 2013 and February 2014, respectively.