At the recently concluded Khelo India Para Games in New Delhi, Mehak Kaur was part of the victorious Haryana team, bagging gold in table tennis. Sharing in her joy were doctors in another part of the country — at Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Kaur was born without a right thumb and had a bent arm, says Dr S Raja Sabapathy, Chairman, division of plastic surgery, hand surgery, reconstructive microsurgery and burns, Ganga Hospital. In 2008, the doctors created a thumb from her index finger and set right the bent arm. And there’s been no turning back for the young champ.
Whether it is a typist, an industrial worker or a sportsperson — a deformity or injury affects livelihood and, often, young people are impacted in the prime of their life, says Dr Sabapathy. Hand injuries are the most common among workplace injuries, he says, though greater enforcement of industrial safety rules have helped reduce accidents.
There is the direct cost of surgery but the indirect cost of loss of employment and other disabling factors is high with an injured hand, he says. Microsurgery has added to the benefits of rejoining an amputated hand or fingers, he explains. The “cost-effort-reward ratio” is high when hand injuries are treated, says Dr Sabapathy. In a first for an Indian doctor, he was recently named President of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (with 60-plus member countries) for three years. His hope is to reach “quality hand surgical care to the millions who are less privileged”.
Health ambassadors
Indian healthcare should position itself as the best in quality and not merely as cost-effective, he says, adding that the hospital has trained over 3,300 medical professionals in hand surgeries since 1991. About half the hand surgeons in Bangladesh were trained by the hospital, he says, adding that British and American associations are looking to support the training of African doctors in India. Trained overseas medical professionals are the best ambassadors, he says, as they carry an appreciation of their host country.
Closer home, hand surgeries cost over ₹1 lakh, says Dr Sabapathy, urging corporates to support these life-changing interventions.
Hand injuries these days are largely due to road accidents, he observes, besides illnesses like diabetes (affecting the hand and feet). Financing surgeries for birth deformities is a challenge for parents as health insurance does not cover “pre-existing” conditions, he points out.
But when it all comes together and a parent shares the first writing or award-winning painting from a child whose hand deformity was set right, “it becomes worthwhile”, says Dr Sabapathy.