Announcement and International Recognition
Rathimed Speciality Hospital, based in Chennai, announced that its Founder and Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Ragunanthan Narayanaswamy, has been invited to speak at the Personalized Arthroplasty Society (PAS) Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada. The invitation marks one of the few instances of an Indian orthopaedic surgeon receiving such a distinction and underscores global interest in the hospital’s indigenous innovation for personalised knee replacement.
Innovation Background and Development
The hospital began exploring kinematic knee replacement in 2016 after studying Dr. Stephen Howell’s philosophy of restoring a patient’s natural knee anatomy rather than relying on conventional mechanical alignment. Recognising that many Indian patients present with advanced arthritis, severe deformity, and bone loss, Dr. Narayanaswamy and his team embarked on several years of research to create a solution tailored to these challenges. This effort resulted in the design, development, and clinical validation of precision surgical instruments that accurately recreate the original joint surface, enabling implant positioning in all three dimensions and restoring natural knee kinematics.
Clinical Outcomes
According to the press release, patients treated with the personalised kinematic knee replacement have experienced reduced pain, less intra‑operative blood loss, faster post‑operative rehabilitation, and improved functional mobility compared with conventional knee replacement techniques. The hospital cites a specific case of a 70‑year‑old patient who, three and a half hours after his second knee replacement, was sitting comfortably, smiling, and moving both knees without pain.
Training and Wider Adoption
Rathimed Speciality Hospital is actively training orthopaedic surgeons in the personalised kinematic knee replacement technique and is making its indigenous instruments available for broader adoption across India and potentially abroad.
Further International Engagements
In addition to the PAS meeting in Montreal, the hospital’s research has been accepted for presentation at an international arthroplasty conference in China later in the year, further highlighting the global relevance of the innovation.