The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bone implant bank opened at General Hospital

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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bone implant bank opened at General Hospital

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: A bone implant bank, a first of its kind facility in the country, was inaugurated on Saturday at the Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Government General Hospital.

It will store implants donated by corporate sponsors and non-governmental organisations.

On the very first day, the bank got Rs.5-lakh worth implants from a manufacturer and a donation of Rs.5 lakh from a corporate body.

The facility would address the needs of trauma and accident victims and those requiring joint replacement surgeries, Health Secretary V.K. Subburaj said.

The Centre provided funds to upgrade the healthcare facilities in the State but there was a shortage of trained manpower to operate the facilities, he said.

Institute Director Mayil Vahanan Natarajan said about 100 joint replacement surgeries were done free of cost every year at the GH. In private hospitals these surgeries cost around Rs.1.5 lakh to Rs.2 lakh, he said.

Government General Hospital Dean J. Mohanasundaram said over 300 beds in the orthopaedic trauma ward remained occupied throughout the year. While the trauma ward was sanctioned 40 beds, at least 90 persons who needed major and minor corrective surgeries were admitted to the hospital everyday, he said.

Director of Medical Education S. Vinayagam said the bone implant bank would dispense with the bureaucratic delay in procuring implants and enable a patient to return to work early.

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