Hyderabad hospital treats 20YO Iraqi youth for rare severe limb deformity

Hyderabad: A young student from Iraq who had deformed lower limbs came to a city hospital seeking treatment. The 20-year-old was diagnosed with epiphyseal dysplasia with severe genu valgus deformity (severe bowing of the knee), a rare congenital deformity.

Sajjad Ameen Matrood Alhasnawi came to KIMS hospitals in Hyderabad. His limbs were deformed since childhood and it further aggravated with his age and he had difficulty walking. He was diagnosed with the rare epiphyseal dysplasia with severe bowing of the knee; this problem has a prevalence rate of 1:1,00,000 only.

This disease has varying degrees of deformity, mostly having a genetic predisposition. Milder deformities get corrected with age but in very few patients, the disease leads to severe deformities. Sajjad Ameen had a severe deformity in both limbs. Due to this, he had severe limb shortening and an abnormal gait which made performing daily activities difficult. He came to KIMS with these problems.

Dr. Srinivas Kasha, consultant orthopaedic surgeon of KIMS hospitals, explained Sajjad Ameen’s problem and the surgeries done on him. “We had to do two different surgeries on him. These were done with advanced deformity correction techniques using a computer-navigated external fixator (Taylor Spatial Frame) over 2–3 months. This technology aids in the gradual sequential correction of multiplanar deformity with great accuracy compared to conventional methods. By doing this surgery, the bowing deformity along with the shortening of the limbs was addressed simultaneously.”

If left untreated, this disease will lead to degenerative changes in the joints, and the patient may need early joint replacement surgery, he said. “Now, Sajjad Ameen can walk full weight bearing with corrected limb length discrepancy. For such surgeries in developed countries like the USA, the cost will be around Rs. 20–30 lakhs. But, here we could do this in less than a quarter of that amount. Such surgeries can be done at an early age. Then the youth will not have to suffer for so many years,” said Dr. Kasha.

Dr. Kasha is trained in computer-navigated deformity correction with an internationally recognised fellowship and has corrected various deformities with this advanced technique.