Ranchi: Fifty-six year old Rukmini Devi got a fresh lease of life after a team of specialised doctors on Saturday performed the first total hip replacement surgery at the Ranchi district hospital under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) as a part of the upgradation of cashless healthcare facilities at the hospital.
The surgery was performed by a team of doctors led by orthopaedic surgeon Dr Nitesh Priya along with other members, including Dr Abhishek, Dr Muzzamil, and Dr Prabhat.
Talking to TOI, Priya said, “The patient had already undergone a tumour surgery at CMC Vellore six months ago and wasn’t able to walk properly. As the patient came from a poor economic background, we decided to conduct her surgery under PM-JAY at the district hospital and it was done for the first time. The patient is currently stable and she will start walking from Sunday with support.”
Ranchi civil surgeon Dr V B Prasad said, “I congratulate the team of doctors on the feat. We are committed to provide the best in class treatment to all our patients by upgrading our services at the district hospital.”
On being asked how did the district hospital arrange for the infrastructure at the hospital, Prasad said, “Upgradation of health services at the state-run hospital is one of the objectives of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and we have been working on it for the last one-and-a-half-year. We had roped in two regular orthopaedic surgeons for performing regular complications and as we got a patient for THR we called in our empanelled super-specialist surgeon Dr Nitesh Priya and he planned the surgery and conducted it successfully.”
Meanwhile, Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan congratulated the team of doctors and said the district administration is committed towards providing all kinds of support to the hospital. “The doctors have done a fantastic job as they performed a successful operation with limited resources. I assure the health services that administration will be extend its support for any such initiative in the future as it will benefit poor patients who cannot afford private hospitals.”