Man walks within a day of rare surgery

In a rare feat, Saurabh Gupta, 24, had his knee ligament and shoulder muscle repaired in a single minimally invasive surgery at a government hospital and at one-third the usual cost.

In a rare feat, Saurabh Gupta, 24, had his knee ligament and shoulder muscle repaired in a single minimally invasive surgery at a government hospital and at one-third the usual cost.

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“A person suffering from both knee and shoulder damage simultaneously is a rare occurrence, and even if it happens, the injuries are treated one at a time,” said Dr Deepak Chaudhary, head of the Safdarjung Hospital’s Sports Injury Centre (SIC), where the surgery was performed on March 5.

“The surgery is just an addition to our body of work and proves that our centre is at par with the best in the world and provides the same treatment at nominal rates. The advantage of combining the procedure in the same sitting is that it will shorten mobility and lead to quicker recovery,” he added.

Gupta, an MBA student, is an active sportsperson. He injured his right shoulder while playing badminton seven months ago and left knee while playing football two years back. “They would pain terribly. When doctors told me that I would require surgery, I selected SIC because it was affordable while providing the best quality treatment,” said Gupta.

“We use the best quality implants, which would cost patients a bomb anywhere else. We used four implants to construct the ligament and three dissolvable bio-screws in Gupta’s knee. For the shoulder, we used three titanium anchors. In total, the surgery cost him Rs90,000. At a private hospital, he would have had to pay around Rs3lakh or more,” said Dr Chaudhary.

The best part is that the person can start walking the very next day after the surgery.