PRASHANTHIGRAM (PUTTTAPARTHI):A three-day conference on “Ilizarov”, an orthopaedic procedure, was inaugurated by Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust members at Puttaparthi on Friday.
Ilizarov is a type of external fixation used in orthopaedic surgery to lengthen or reshape limb bones; to treat complex and/or open bone fractures and in cases of infected non-unions of bones that are not amenable with other techniques.
Doctors from Russia, Italy, Brazil, and Bangladesh discussed the evolution and application of the method at the conference organised by the department of orthopaedics at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), Prasanthigram.
Titled “Ilizarov - Evolution and Application”, the conference was attended by about 165 delegates from across India to get technical knowhow of the method.
The method is named after orthopaedic surgeon Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov from the erstwhile Soviet Union, who pioneered the technique, according to Dr D C Sundaresh, Chairman Orthopaedics, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield, who added that the mission of Sri Sathya Sai Baba was giving complete care to patients with love.
Harshad Shah, HoD Orthopaedics, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, who was part of panel of doctors on the discussion recalled operating on N S Leesha, victim of the Bengaluru BJP office bomb blast in Malleswaram. “The same technique has been used to correct her leg which had multiple fractures,” he said, and added that it need to be popularised.
Dr Alexander Kirienko, Senior Consultant at IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Italy, who works on complex foot and ankle deformities, says the deformity in clubfoot may occur in severe cases. “The application of the Ilizarov external fixation technique has allowed the correction of complex deformity in three dimensions, offers a new histogenesis of soft tissue and bone, and allows better correction, stabilisation and greater decrease in the incidence of relapses,” he opined.
Dr Mohammed Mofakhkharul Bari of the Bari-Ilizarov Orthopaedic Centre, who specialises in congenital bone deformity, said that through this technique such cases can be corrected.
Highlights of Meet
The highlights of the conference are the pre-conference hands-on workshop, four live surgical demonstrations, instructional course lectures, panel discussions and focused discussions on difficult orthopaedic problems. The main focus of the conference will be dealing with complex limb deformities, infections, trauma and also make the delegates aware of the Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s philosophy of totally free healthcare with love and compassion, according to the organisers.
The guests of honour, senior members of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Sri K Chakravarthi, Sri R J Rathnakar and Secretary SSSCT Sri Prasad Rao stressed on the uniqueness of the SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram, in providing totally free healthcare.
The inaugural talk was presented by the Director of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram, Dr Gurumurthy which followed a welcome address by Chairman of Orthopaedics of SSSIHMS, Prasanthigram and Dr D C Sundaresh.
Patients’ Count
■ Total patients treated so for since the inception of hospital: 30,66,771
■ Total surgeries since inception: 2,18,715