Bengaluru: C.V. Raman Nagar General Hospital in Indiranagar has recorded its first shoulder replacement surgery, which is also a first among all government hospitals across the state. Eighty-year-old Bhadramma, a resident of New Thippasandra, sustained multiple fractures on her right shoulder after she fell down at her home on June 30. She was admitted to the hospital on July 2 and Medical Superintendent Dr John Ebenezer, along with his team of orthopaedic surgeons, decided to go for shoulder replacement.
"Keeping her age in mind, fixing it was not an option as it would take a long time to heal. We also had to keep her active as well. Hence we went ahead with the replacement surgery. It was tricky because of her age and also it is not as common as hip and knee replacement surgery,” Dr Ebenezer said.
The three-hour-long surgery was conducted on Tuesday by Dr Ebnezar along with orthopaedic surgeons Dr Annappa Swamy, Dr Purshottam, Dr Uday Kumar and Dr Manohar and two anaesthetists, Dr Padmaja and Dr Arun.
For Bhadramma the surgery was done free of cost. It would have cost around Rs 3 lakh for a similar surgery at a private hospital.
In her case, the surgeons opted for an Indian implant. "We did not compromise on the quality. The three-hour surgery was successful and the patient is not experiencing any pain or swelling. We have, however, advised her rest and physiotherapy," Dr Ebenezer said.
When asked why such replacement surgeries are not done in government hospitals, Dr Ebenezer conceded that there were many issues. "There are multiple issues like the infrastructure, implants, procurement of certain equipment. Then there is the need of high-end training,” he added.
He, however, expressed happiness that the government has now realised the importance of infrastructure in helathcare delivery and was enabling doctors in government hospitals.
