Bangalore hospital performs rare biological bone reconstruction

It's early days yet, but the state is expected to have its first bone bank at the HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd (HCG). The hospital has performed the first biological reconstruction for Ewing's sarcoma in India. The patient was a nine-year-old boy from New Delhi. The surgery was performed on Friday.

Dr Pramod S Chindar, ortho oncologist, HCG, performed the surgery under the guidance of Dr Marco Manfrini, senior orthopedic surgeon, Instituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Italy. Dr Manfrini is a pioneer in this kind of surgery. "Bone for this surgery was imported from Italy, since there are no bone banks here.

Biological reconstruction was performed on the boy, and the human bone was transplanted. We used the bone to fix the composite to the residual femur, avoiding damage," said Dr Chindar.

At a press conference on Friday, Dr BS Ajaikumar, chairman, HCG, said, "The parents of the patient came to us for a second opinion from New Delhi. They had been advised that the best option available was amputation. After a detailed examination, we found that there was the possibility of saving the limb through biological reconstruction."

"Ewing's sarcoma is a malignant tumor. Biological construction after Ewing's sarcoma is diagnosed has been performed for a while, and the cost of the surgery using a bone transplant is cheaper than artificial structures. I have performed 15 similar surgeries in the past, and patients were able to walk in less than a year after the surgery. This is, however, the first time such a surgery has been performed in India." said Dr
Manfrini.

Ewing sarcoma
Ewing sarcoma is a rare malignant tumour, most commonly occurring in males between the years of 10 and 20 years. Bones and soft tissue are affected. The pelvis, femur, ribs and clavicle are most commonly affected. Ewing's sarcoma occurs most commonly during puberty, when bones grow rapidly.