BIRRD doctors perform unique orthopaedic surgery

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI, NOV. 20. The Balaji Institute of Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD), the corporate-class hospital run by the TTD for physically challenged patients, has scaled a new high with its doctors successfully performing an unique orthopaedic surgery on Monday on a patient with a fractured thigh bone.

Called "Interlocking nailing", the surgery is said to be done for the first time at least in the Rayalaseema region.

Till now, for attaching a fractured or broken thigh bone, a Kunshker intra-medullary nail (a tri-flanged one) was being inserted between the two parts of a broken bone after tearing open the thigh. This involved great post-operative care and could result in blood loss to the extent of half a litre, apart from the patient suffering from increased chances of infection, skin damage, bed sore due to being bed-ridden for 6-8 weeks, stiffness of joints, pain due to sutures, etc.

The new surgery involves less cutting hence less pain and blood loss is only upto 20 cc. It is just a blacksmith's job done with surgical precision. Guided by a thin wire, a tubular nail (called interlocking nail) will be sent from the upper part of the thigh bone through a small cut near the hip. The movement of the nail will be observed through an X-ray guided control which provides visual support of the happenings inside the thigh.

When the nail passes from one part to the other part of the broken bone, a guided screw will be driven into the nail from the lateral side to keep it pressed to the bone. Two such screws are driven at the upper part of the bone and two at the lower part near the knee. This will keep the bone stationary and adds strength to it, while the chances of infection are reduced due to the fettering of scalpel work to a small area.

The patient will be able to walk with support in just 10 days and normalcy returns in a month. In another two months, the nails can be removed with just one pull, of course, without much slitting and pain.

Explaining to mediapersons the intricacies involved in the surgery, BIRRD director, Dr.K.V. Subba Rao, put the cost of the instrument at Rs.40,000 and each nail made of steel molybdenum at Rs.2,500. The entire set of instruments resembled an automobile tool kit.

Dr. Rao said that the surgery would cost upward of Rs.25,000 in other hospitals in the State which a poor patient could not afford, while BIRRD does it free of cost. Brimming with confidence that the attempt has been proven to be a grand success on its debut, he announced that the surgery would be taken up on a large scale soon.

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