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| India fast becoming a hub for orthopaedic surgeries |
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Low-cost facilities, world-class expertise and almost no waiting list in orthopaedic surgeries have made India the hub of medical tourism with more foreigners, needing joint replacements or affected with bone injuries, flocking to the country for treatment. The market for orthopaedic implants has grown by five to six times in the last decade and a large portion of this growth has been driven by medical tourists from developed countries, as also from Africa and Middle East, experts say. The cost factor - almost one-twentieth of that in US and Europe - is the primary motivator for foreigners, who want to avail "world-class" facilities at affordable prices, they say. "There has been an evident change in the sector in the past few years with orthopedic implant surgeries becoming acceptable with greater number of Indians and the inflow of foreigners also going up considerably," said O N Nagi, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Ganga Ram hospital, Delhi. Besides providing cost-effective treatments, Indian medical centres also cut down the painful procedure of waiting for their turn in countries where the sector is congested, said Dr Nagi, who conducts 500 surgeries annually, 30-50 among them being for foreign patients. "The last decade has seen the number of surgeries done, including those of foreign patients, go up by 5-6 per cent," he told PTI. A knee surgery which costs £25,000 in US, can be availed at just £5,000 in India, thus benefiting those opting for it even after adding up the travel costs. Hip replacement surgery in India costs £600 for a cement-less implant and Rs £1,000 for a cemented implant - one-twentieth of the cost in US and UK. Orthopaedic implants which include knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, among other surgeries are recommended to patients who have suffered damage to joints, sometimes by injuries but mostly by thinning away of cartilage, wasting of muscles, bone overgrowth and deformities. "As the number of people undergoing orthopedic implant surgeries has steadily gone up by 5-6 times in the last decade, knee and hip replacements are the most sought after surgeries," said C S Yadav, orthopedic surgeon and professor in the Department of Orthopedics at AIIMS. The surgeries are sought after because they considerably improve the quality of lives of people undergoing them, and unlike people suffering from heart ailments, patients from western countries can travel long distances to avail low-cost facilities in developing countries, Dr Yadav says. While the medical aspects of the sector have been showing positive trends, the area of concern is the quality of implants produced in India, doctors say. "There is no innovation in the Indian market. Indian companies have no copyrights and most of the implants or their designs are imported or copied," said Yash Gulai, orthopedic surgeon, at Apollo hospital. According to estimates, the global demand for orthopaedic implants is likely to reach $23 billion by 2012. - Agencies Related Articles:
Last update: 07-06-2009 23:01
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