City hospital performs Tamil Nadu’s 1st synthetic ligament surgery

CHENNAI: A city hospital performed Tamil Nadu's first arthroscopy surgery using synthetic ligaments on Saturday. The patient, 23-year-old software professional E Manikandan, underwent the procedure to treat a severe knee injury suffered in a road accident three months prior. He is recovering well and will be discharged in a week. Surgeons at Rela Hospital initially stabilised Manikandan’s fractured pelvis and repaired other damaged knee ligaments and nerves.
After three months, a team led by Dr Prakash Ayyadurai, Senior Consultant in Arthroscopy & Sports Medicine, reconstructed Manikandan’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) using synthetic ligaments imported from the UK. ACL and PCL, needed for knee stability, connect the thigh bones to the lower leg bones. Multi-ligament knee injuries, often resulting from high-energy trauma like road accidents or sports injuries, pose significant risks of long-term morbidity, including chronic pain and impaired mobility. Dr Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy, CEO of Rela Hospital said, “Unlike autografts, which require harvesting ligaments from the patient's own body, or allografts, which use donor ligaments, synthetic ligaments eliminate the need for additional surgeries and prolonged rehabilitation periods.”
Dr Klaudiusz Kosowski, Medical Director at MedPolonia Private Hospital in Polan said, “Considering that 15-20% of knee injuries require ligament reconstruction, synthetic ligaments could revolutionize arthroscopy.”