Robert Walter Beeney was unable to walk due to a stiff hip when
he landed in India January 24. Twenty days later, he not only
recovered after a rare hip replacement surgery at Apollo Hospital
here but also visited the famous Taj Mahal in Agra after that.
The 64-year-old real estate consultant from San Francisco
underwent successful surface replacement surgery using the
anatomic surface replacement (ASR) hip system January 27,
reportedly becoming the first US national to come to India
for the treatment.
Another patient from Florida will be landing in Chennai for
a similar procedure at the Apollo Hospital there later this
week.
A team of doctors, led by orthopaedic surgeon Vijay Bose,
carried out the procedure for Beeney.
Jayaramchander Pingle, a member of the medical team, told
a news conference on Tuesday that while in the conventional
hip replacement surgery, the total hip was replaced, in the
new system, the patient's original head and neck of femur
were preserved and only their surface is replaced with metal
on metal articulation.
With the use of very advanced metallurgy in this device,
the wear and tear is reduced to a fraction in the artificial
joint as opposed to the conventional total hip replacement.
Another advantage of the latest procedure is that in the
event of any problem that may occur in the long term, the
conventional total hip replacement can be done at a later
stage.
Beeney, who came to know about the procedure in India through
the Internet, said that since this was not yet cleared by
the US Food and Drug Administration, he decided to come to
India.
"This is despite the fact that the device that is fixed
in the hip is made in the US," he said.
He also had other options like going to Britain or Belgium
for treatment. "But I preferred India as the treatment
costs there are huge," he said.
The treatment in India cost him $6,600 (Rs 300,000) while
the same as a part of clinical trial in US would have cost
$24,000. Even in Britain, where this procedure was first developed
a few years ago, it would have cost 12,000 pounds.
To receive an approximate idea of cost and other information
regarding treatments and holidays, please contact us at Travelmartindia.com
today.
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Email: travelinfo@travelmartindia.com
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