Stride ON!

Dr Sandeep Adke talks to Riddhi Vyas and Amber Dias about Ilizarov – a treatment that is helping orthopaedic patients find their feet again.

- Riddhi Vyas and Amber Dias

Fractures, joint issues and other orthopaedic problems can be a thorn in one’s side especially when expensive surgeries, treatments and their painful complications come into play. Dr Sandeep Adke, orthopaedic surgeon, Adke Hospital, Solapur, tells us that there is an alternative to painful complications - a Russian orthopaedic treatment called Ilizarov.

He avers, “This technique has been tested for the last 63 years and has shown miraculous results. There are no limitations – even if a person had suffered severe bone injury many years ago, he/ she too can be treated easily. In fact, anyone - from a three-month-old baby to a 90-year-old person - can be treated through the Ilizarov method. Moreover, this treatment is quite economical. It costs only $1,000 (₹ 67,770) and any bone deformity can be treated successfully with it. ”

WHAT IS ILIZAROV?

Taking its name from the Russian inventor Professor Gavril A Ilizarov, this treatment is a branch of orthopaedic medicine which uses an external apparatus or fixture to reshape or lengthen the bones and treat complex bone fractures.