With the growing incidence of orthopaedic related disorders leading to joint replacements arising out of bone degeneration and accidents, India is facing an acute shortage of technical experts in arthroscopy. Currently, there are only 50 arthroscopy specialists as against the need for 5,000 experts to handle the joint diseases which account for half of all chronic conditions, said Dr Keyur A Buch, consultant, Arthroscopy & Upper Limb Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Limited, Bangalore.

At any given time, going by the sheer number of joint disorders and diseases affecting the knee, shoulder, wrist and spine, India requires experts to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment. There is also a need to conduct research on joint health arising out of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal disorders and severe trauma, Dr Buch told Pharmabiz.

“Only education and training spanning over five to 10 years can create the desired pool of experts. Going by the considerable interest in interest in this science among doctors and the growing awareness in patients, the need of the hour is to increase the number of post graduate programmes in orthopaedics with specialization in upper limb and arthroscopy at medical colleges and hospitals here”, he added.

Although Japan pioneered the first arthroscopic procedure, it is the Western world which has taken major strides in imparting the required training to create teams of experts. Specialists in India including Dr. Buch have been trained in US, UK and parts of Europe to offer the treatment in India.

In terms of a comprehensive and advanced facility to perform the procedures, Bangalore is known to have one of the best centres in the county after New Delhi and Mumbai that can perform arthroscopy on the entire spectrum of limbs like wrist, shoulder, knee and spine. In fact, Fortis Bangalore is the only centre which performs wrist arthroscopy in the country, he said.

The duration of an arthroscopy procedure is anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 hours and costs from Rs 35,000 to Rs 2 lakh depending on the condition of the joint.

Arthroscopy is much-sought after over conventional procedures to repair joints. There is no other cure for joint damage except arthroscopy. The minimal invasive surgery is less traumatic, with limited scars and provides better outcomes in terms of repair of muscle joint cartilage. The latest trend is the use of biological implants instead of metal and plastic insertions. The former has proved to stimulate stem cells and allows targeted joint surface treatment. This provides faster flexibility and is more viable for the current productive patient population who need to return to work, stated Dr Buch.