India’s first joint replacement museum opens in Ahmedabad

New Delhi: The Indian Society Of Hip and Knee Surgeons (ISHKS) inaugurated India’s first arthroplasty (joint replacement) museum recently. India’s first Joint Replacement Museum by ISHKS – Indian Society of Hip and Knee Surgeons – was recently inaugurated in Ahmedabad.

This museum exhibits priceless and rarest repository of joint implants ranging from initial days of joint replacement surgery in India till the present times capturing the evolution of knee and hip replacement surgery in the country.

Indian Society of Hip & Knee Surgeons is a non-profit organization currently based in Ahmedabad. It was founded in 2004 with an objective to provide a platform for exchange of ideas and best practices in the field of knee and hip replacement surgery among surgeons. ISHKS also maintains a registry of joint replacement surgeries in India and has documented more than 2.5 lakh joints operated by its members, which is recognized by the National Health Authority.

The idea behind this to celebrate the pioneering work done in India, since the first total hip that was done in Bombay in 1972. This Museum is a collection of the retrieved implants ranging from the early (historical)implants to the modern ones. These retrieval specimens also have been categorized and grouped based on the long-term behavior, wear patterns and other features depicting their actual behavior in vivo.

Dr J A Pachore, Curator of the museum said, “This museum is an initiative of Indian Society of Hip & Knee Surgeons. It will be of great value to young joint replacement surgeons, scholars and researchers for education and research activities. Some of the exhibits in this museum are very rare, from the 1970s, the initial days of joint replacement surgery in India. The exhibits include various types of joint implants ranging from five decades.

This collection coming from the works of our own surgeons in the country would be of great use to all the surgeons in training and of historical interest to all arthroplasty surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, post-graduates, FNB students and implant industry personnel. Every effort is being made to constantly upgrade the collections and information, as we receive more specimens from the private archives of the members.