Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Canadian, U.S. citizens undergo surgery in Coimbatore hospital

Special Correspondent

Medical tourism to correct orthopaedic problems

COIMBATORE: Jim Macleod of Canada had not been sure whether he would be cured of a crippling problem in his hips.

After a painful wait for 18 months back home to consult a surgeon, he was waitlisted for another 12 months to undergo a surgery. But perseverance paid.

Mr. Macleod surfed the internet to look for options outside his country; those that would be easy on his purse and end his agony soon.

His search for surgeons for hip resurfacing ended when he read about people from the U.S. undergoing the procedure at Coimbatore.

The Canadian came to know of Sri Ramakrishna Hospital's consultant orthopaedic surgeon G. Balasubramaniam having enabled a patient like him to resume skiing back home at Wyoming in the U.S.

Dr. Balasubramaniam said the Canadian spoke to him a couple of months ago and he and his wife landed in Coimbatore for bilateral (both hips) hip resurfacing with a space of six days between the two surgeries.

In 12 days after the operations, the patient was able to walk without any pain.

Cost of surgery

Judith Lawson of New Mexico in the U.S. said in an e-mail to Dr. Balasubramaniam recently that she was going hiking at a place that was 7,500 ft above mean sea level.

Swimming and sailing were also to be resumed soon. She too learnt about the growing medical tourism in Coimbatore and reached the hospital for resurfacing.

The surgery here cost her around Rs. 2.25 lakh while it was much higher in the U.S., apart from the agonising wait for one's turn for surgery.

Harry Bennewitt (59) from Florida in the U.S. was asked to cough up $ 35,000 (more than Rs.15 lakh) for resurfacing of the right hip.

The real estate agent had been suffering from osteoarthritis that prevented him from doing any exercise.

As a result, his weight touched 120 kg and he was confined to home by the pain in the hip. Mr. Bennewitt underwent resurfacing here in May-end.

Patty Adachi, a U.S. citizen of Italian origin, underwent resurfacing here as the solution offered back in the U.S. was total hip replacement that cost anywhere between $ 30,000 to $ 60,000 (from about Rs. 13 lakh to more than Rs. 25 lakh).

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