Chembur businessman gets life back year after botched knee surgery

Retired Chembur businessman Kris Kesavan 78 underwent a bilateral knee replacement surgery in November 2015 at a city hospital He surmised that at his age this was expected and wouldnt take long for him to be back on his feet He was wrongBrainstorming solutionsLife turned topsyturvy for the regular marathon runner and sports enthusiast when the implant got infected as he was prescribed a heavy and strong dose of antibiotics and sleeping pills for more than a year for the excruciating pain and other problems Not only did running become out of the question he couldnt continue with his favourite tennis and swimming eitherCut to 2018 the septuagenarian has successfully overcome the problem and now goes on his regular morning walks as well as drives his car thanks to Dr Pradeep Bhosale director Arthritis and Joint Replacement Surgery Nanavati Hospital With an aim to understanding the science of bone and joint infection microbiologists and orthopaedic surgeons in the city are planning to form the Osteoarticular Infection Society and conducted a preliminary meeting on November 2425 to get inputs from specialists across India and the globeConfirming this Dr Bhosale said We are concerned about the increase in cases of postoperative infections in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery as well as those getting the nonorthopaedic implants right from dental to replacement of cardiac valve Hence we are keen on roping in all stakeholders and finding out ways to tackle thisA painful nightmareRecalling the ordeal he survived Kesavan said The first surgery failed and a second was done within a month for correction but that failed too I had shooting pain soon after the surgery then came the fever But it was only when pus started oozing from the implant area that I realised something had gone wrongAll of this affected my mental health too I stopped eating properly and was surviving on antibiotics painkillers and sleeping pills for a yearandahalf It became so bad that I was scared to face the next day and begged God to give me death It was a miserable time for my family wife and five daughters who were going through their own anguish seeing me in this state every dayKesavan added I went to nine famous orthos but none could guarantee me an infectionfree life I was clueless and even considered amputation Thats when my daughter brought me to her home in London and we met an Indianorigin doctor there who said he would have to operate on me From there I was referred to Dr Bhosale in Mumbai he finally got me my leg and life backHow the infection occursDr Bhosale explained If the infection occurs after joint replacement it is challenging to treat Most times bacteria stick to the implant and form a selfprotecting biofilm around them This helps them survive proliferate and spread while preventing absorption of antibiotics in the bloodMany times isolation of germs is a difficult task due to this biofilm The only way to eradicate the infection is to remove the implant It requires a twostage surgery mdash stage I is cleaning of the joint by removing the implant and filling the gap temporarily with bone cement loaded with suitable antibiotics and stage II which comes once the infection is gone is a definitive revision knee replacement surgery done with good surgical planning Patients can get back near normal function with proper surgical technique and expertiseDr Bhosale who has more than 14000 joint replacement surgeries to his credit added Many times to save money patients and even doctors prefer performing the implant surgery at small centres which might lack modern equipment risking the entire process This should be avoided as far as possibleCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates