M. Thavamani from Lalgudi taluk lost her right arm after a lorry accident back in 1995. Seventeen years later, she was promised a free prosthetic arm by the Tiruchi Ortho Club (TOC) and the Tiruchi chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), on Sunday. Thavamani, along with many others like her, were identified as requiring medical intervention at the deformities detection camp organised by the TOC and the IMA on Sunday.
Held at K.A.P. Viswanatham Higher Secondary School, the camp was attended by over a 100 persons suffering from various orthopaedic problems.
“We have organised the camp in the run up to the first ever World Bone and Joint Day to be observed on August 4, 2012,” said Dr. John Karuppiah, president of TOC and the IMA.
The persons identified at the end of the camp will be operated upon or be fitted with orthotic or prosthetic device free of cost. “So far we have seen 10 persons requiring orthopaedic surgery and 13 persons who need artificial limbs or braces to steady their limbs or joints,” said Dr. Karuppiah.
“While younger patients come with deformities caused by Polio and other developmental illnesses such as clubfoot, abnormal bony outgrowth, older persons have deformities, mainly caused by malunited fractures,” said Dr. Samson Daniel, one of the doctors at the camp. Explaining that malunited fractures were deformities caused by a fracture that had not set properly, Dr. Samson said that they could eventually lead to loss of limb function. Malunited fractures are mainly caused by indigenous bone setting treatments, he said.
The camp has also identified four persons with bone tumours, according to Dr. Karuppiah. “Only after further investigations can we rule out the possibility of bone cancer in all four patients,” he said.
Around Rs.1.5 lakh has been set aside for the surgeries and the orthopaedic device, according to Dr. Jaikish, secretary, TOC.
“All treatments have been scheduled to begin from August 4 and are expected to be completed within two months,” he said.
Slated to be converted into an annual feature, the camp was attended by nearly 20 orthopaedic doctors from Tiruchi, while patients came in from as far as Pudukottai and Thuraiyur.
