I am writing this review on behalf of my mother Lakshmamma’s bilateral knee replacement surgeries performed by Dr. Venkatachalam. I will explain my mom’s knee condition before and after the surgeries.
Before knee replacement surgeries: Around 7-8 years ago, my mom had developed severe pain in both knees. Since then she has visited several hospitals in Guntur and Hyderabad. Wherever she went for checkups of her knee condition, doctors recommended her to have knee replacement surgeries. She took several pain killers and injections, but, none of them were successful in relieving her pain. She was traumatized all these years, and we as a family members were disappointed so much and concerned for her pain. Until 2006-2007, she used to do all the household work with ease. Since then, her problems started growing year after year. From 2010, her work ability was completely reduced, because of pain in the knees. She had not been properly walking, climbing stairs, standing or sitting on the floor. She was not able to walk even 100 feet at a stretch because of her pain.
Finding the right doctor- My mom got to hear that knee replacement surgeries’ were unsuccessful from her friends and some known persons. Here unsuccessful means, they still have pain in their knees or their knees do not bend properly for walking or sitting/standing after few years of their knee surgery. Due to these reasons my mom was reluctant to have knee replacements even though she had been suffering from severe pain. However, we constantly advised and encouraged her to have knee replacements due to its benefits.
Searching suitable doctor to perform my mom’s knee surgeries was a daunting task for me. I was completely reliant on web searches and recommendations available on the internet. My criteria were that the surgeon should have had several years of vast experience in knee replacements and his/her surgeries should be successful. After spending several hours on the web searching, I selected Dr. Venkatachalam as the surgeon to consult and have an opinion about on the surgeries. I contacted Dr. Venkatachalam about the situation, and fixed his appointment. During our first visit, he had taken X-rays of my mom’s knees, and conducted some tests. In the X-rays, it is clearly seen that her knees were damaged and needed replacements. We were advised about the benefits of the surgery and problems if left untreated. We exchanged several mails to reach our final conclusion to have or not to have knee replacement surgeries. Whatever technical or medical questions we had, Dr. Venkatachalam clarified them all. The response received from Dr. Venkatachalam was prompt, clear, and immediate. We even spoke to one of his previous patients. Finally, we decided to go ahead with my mom’s knee surgeries.
During knee replacements: On Aug 8, 2014, my mom had her first knee replacement surgery on the right side. After five days, on Aug 13, 2014 she had undergone the second surgery on her left knee. She had tolerable pain for a couple of days after each surgery. However, she was advised to walk regularly with the help of a walker, and received physiotherapy daily. Dr. Venkatachalam performed these two knee surgeries at the Chennai Meenakshi Multi-speciality hospital with latest techniques and high flexion implants. We were amazed by the friendly nature of Dr. VC. He took excellent care of my mom by visiting her twice a day. After two weeks of her surgery, my mom was able to walk without the help of a walker. She was sent home on Aug 28, 2014 with medicines for a week and a three month prescription for physiotherapy.
After knee replacement surgeries: We appointed a local physiotherapist after reaching home and had the physiotherapy regularly. In three months, by the beginning of November, my mom’s condition had changed dramatically for the better. She was walking perfectly without any help or bend. She was able to climb stairs, do household work with ease and as regularly as before 2005. We were really amazed that she was not taking any pain medication, no problem or complaints about the knees. In December, she had travelled around thousand kilometre in three days and walked around few kilometres in those days. Dr. Venkatachalam checked out my mom’s knees on December 23, 2014, and gave clearance on both her knees as normal in their functioning. There is no problem with both knees. At present, it is only a minor that the left knee needs to bend 3-5 degrees more to have completely sit on the floor. However, it is only four months after the surgeries. With this I and my family members are completely satisfied with the knee replacement surgeries performed by Dr. Venkatachalam. We strongly recommend that Dr. Venkatachalam is the surgeon you need to consult for any knee problems. If anyone wants to speak with me about my mom’s knee condition and about her experiences after the knee replacement surgeries, please feel free to contact us at svssr@rediffmail.com.