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Shoulder and Knee orthopedic surgery for American Mountaineer in Chennai
Added: (Fri Mar 10 2006)
Renowned American Mountaineer James Spark underwent major Knee & Shoulder surgery at Venkataeswara Hospitals in Chennai under noted Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. A K Venkatachalam
As medical tourism in India touches new heights, its latest success has been the successful knee and shoulder surgery conducted on James Spark, the noted American climber by Dr. A. K. Venkatachalam at Venkataeswara Hospitals. Mr. James Spark from Colorado, USA had damaged the ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament) of his left knee, while on a climb nine years ago. Undeterred by this injury, he bravely ascended several peaks in Asia and South America over the next decade.
Double injuries
In 2000, James conquered Mount Everest. But after this climb, his knee was unable to tolerate repeated episodes of instability and this resulted in tearing of his knee cartilage. This tear used to get locked between the knee bones resulting in agonizing pain on several occasions; one such episode paralyzed him during a climb in Tibet. Mr. Spark also suffered another injury to his left shoulder two months ago while walking on an icy lake in the USA. Writhing in severe pain, he attended the casualty department of the local hospital. It was diagnosed to be a dislocation or rotator cuff tear and was put back. Pain was unbearable and resulted in severe
stiffness.
To his dismay, Mr. Spark learned that private treatment for both in the US would cripple him financially (approximately 18,000 USD for arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery and approximately 25,000 USD for an ACL reconstruction and menisectomy). Unwilling to give up his passion for heights, he searched the Internet for an Indian Orthopedic surgeon who could operate on his knee and shoulder and located Dr. A. K.Venkatachalam.
He checked out the doctor’s credentials from other sites and contacted another patient, Mr.Dave Hurd from the US who had undergone shoulder surgery by the same surgeon in December. He landed up in the first week of February and two days later he underwent successful double orthopaedic surgery in the city hospital. The first one was for a missing knee ligament and loose cartilage removal( Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction), three weeks ago and last week (on 22nd Feb 2006) he had arthroscopic (key-hole) surgery for a torn tendon( rotator cuff) in his left shoulder. He also sought Dental treatment in between the two surgeries. He will be staying in Chennai for another 3 weeks to get his initial dental treatment completed and will return five months later for prosthetic fitting.
“Mr. Spark’s surgery is a complete success and he can return to climbing later this year”, says Dr. A. K. Venkatachalam. “India offers tremendous value in terms of cost effective orthopedic surgery for westerners. Orthopaedic surgery is, in fact, one of the emerging areas in the medical tourism boom.”
The one hour long arthroscopic shoulder surgery was performed using hypotensive anesthesia, a technique in which the systolic blood pressure is brought down in a controlled manner to about 70mm of Hg to enable the surgeon to visualize the interior of a shoulder with an arthroscope, the field being unobscured by a pool of blood.
About Dr Venkatachalam
Dr. A. K. Venkatachalam is an Asst. Professor of Orthopedics & a consultant orthopedic surgeon in Chennai. He was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Dubai and Oman before this. He has worked with some leading Knee surgeons in the UK, US, Europe and the Middle east. He is on the panel of experts for www.gulfmd.com, Ask Your Doctor Online and www.doctorndtv.com. He has been invited to present guest lectures in the UAE and India. He is affiliated to Venkataeswara & Malar hospitals.