'Orthopaedic replacements industry growing'

With awareness growing on hip and knee replacements, and with government support and medical insurance market widening, more patients are taking to orthopeadic replacement surgeries.

As a result the market potential for these technologically-advanced surgical fittings are increasing, Bangalore's leading orthopaedician and joint replacement specialist HPC Khincha said on Monday in Mysore.

There is also great scope for the manufacture of these orthopaedic replacements within the country as most of them are today imported. Only one or two companies manufacture them in India.

Manufacturing them at international standards can also cut its cost so that more patients can avail benefits of these modern replacement fittings.

Making a visual presentation at a media conference on improvements taking place in trauma care, arthroscopic surgeries, hip and knee replacements and sports injuries, Khincha said it was possible for surgeons today to perform knee surgeries on patients with or without diabetes, high blood pressure and requiring only 4-7 days of hospitalisation.

"Joint replacement changes the life of a person suffering from injury, age or disease-related orthopaedic pain like arthritis. After the arthroplasty, the patients are allowed to sit on the floor, climb a train or even fly," Khincha, who has performed about 3,000 joint replacements at the Sagar Apollo Hospital, Bangalore, said.

Those who have gone in for such surgical corrections comprise cricketers like Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Governor T N Chaturvedi.

These replacements are made of the best bio-compatible material like metal on metal, metal on plastic, ceramic on ceramic, high density polythene and titanium and lasts as long as 20 years.

A lot of research work is going on around the world on such technologically advanced synthetic replacements. Bangalore, with its medical and other facilities, is becoming a major centre for advanced medical and surgical treatments, Khincha said.