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New Delhi: For
32-year-old Iraqi woman Amira Hussain, life was restricted to the
bed with most of her joints degenerated due to an acute form of
arthritis. But she got hope in India after undergoing four joint
replacements in two weeks in the national capital.
Amira (name changed) suffered from Juvenile Chronic Arthritis (JCA),
a rare form of arthritis which affects people at a young age and
leads to severe damage to joints and bones.
"This disorder is relatively uncommon which, if not diagnosed and
treated on time, leads to severe disability and crippling of young
individuals," Raju Vaishya, senior consultant-orthopaedics and
joint replacement surgeon at the Apollo Hospital, who treated
Amira, told IANS.
The patient had a history of multiple joint pains in the hips,
hands, elbows, wrists and knees for the last 22 years. Severe
pain, stiffness and joint deformity meant she could not perform
basic tasks like walking and even sitting.
"The condition of her joints was so bad that leave alone walking,
she could not even move her legs because of degenerated hip joints
and needed assistance even for the most basic daily routine," the
doctor said.
But Amira underwent four surgeries last month, replacing her hip
joints and elbows in two weeks. She was discharged by the third
week. The replacement of both hips was done on the same day.
The entire procedure cost her nearly Rs.10 lakh ($19,340).
Vaishya said the patient is able to walk now with her new joints.
"She could not even move her legs earlier but she started walking
barely within a week of the operation," he said.
Vaishya said Amira is now back in Iraq and would come back for
replacement of some other joints.
The exact cause of the disease, which is also known as childhood
arthritis, is not known yet.
The doctor said: "Surgery in young patients is complicated because
you cannot subject them to repeated surgeries."
He added that he has seen a constant increase in the number of
young patients coming for joint replacement.
"There has been a constant increase in the number of young
patients coming for joint replacement surgery," he said, adding
that "the biggest problem is that such diseases are not diagnosed
on time, leading to more degeneration".
The doctor said joint replacement surgeries in India are at least
five to 10 times cheaper than in the US or Europe.
"Not only the expenditure on hospital fee but other things too are
lesser in India; the joints are also cheaper in India even though
they are all made in the US," said Vaishya.
He added that nearly 5,000 foreign patients come to India for
joint replacement surgery every year.
(Anjali Ojha can be contacted at anjali.o@ians.in)
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