Mumbai: Having kidney or gallbladder stones is common health problemsBut 70-year-old Laxmikant Madhekar had a cucumber-shaped ‘stone’ removed last week, about 12 cm from his right knee.
The ‘stone’, an amalgamation of bones and cartilage, is a rare condition called ‘multiple giant synovial chondromatosis’ that occurs in one in a million people.
A daily wage patient from Amaravati had a free operation last week at a city hospital, which included a total knee replacement, as the ‘stone’ had severely affected his joint.
On Friday, Madhekar did something he hasn’t been able to do in 10 years: ride his son’s Luna motorbike outside his home on Faizalpura Library Chowk Road.
His son Premkar said, “My father could not walk or climb stairs properly for the last few years, although the swelling in his knee started a decade ago.”
Arogya sevaks of his village brought the Madhekars to the SL Raheja Fortis Hospital in Mahim for a check-up in early March. An MRI showed an unusual cucumber-shaped stone.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr Siddharth M Shah, who operated on Madhekar, said a medical literature search brought up only one mention of a large stone. “The largest stone was 20 cm, while the second one mentioned was 11 cm. Our patient’s stone measured 12 x 6 x 5.5 cm and needed to be removed in two parts,” he said. The medical team plans to submit the case study to a medical journal as “the stone is likely to be the largest, at least in India,” he said.
‘Multiple giant synovial chondromatosis’ occurs when the inner layer of the synovium, the knee joint, begins to secrete cartilage instead of lubricating fluid. “These nodules can break off and form loose bodies inside the knee,” the doctor said. Madhekar’s right knee contained four colossal stones, 12 cm one, as well as a dozen smaller osteochondromas (stones). news network
The ‘stone’, an amalgamation of bones and cartilage, is a rare condition called ‘multiple giant synovial chondromatosis’ that occurs in one in a million people.
A daily wage patient from Amaravati had a free operation last week at a city hospital, which included a total knee replacement, as the ‘stone’ had severely affected his joint.
On Friday, Madhekar did something he hasn’t been able to do in 10 years: ride his son’s Luna motorbike outside his home on Faizalpura Library Chowk Road.
His son Premkar said, “My father could not walk or climb stairs properly for the last few years, although the swelling in his knee started a decade ago.”
Arogya sevaks of his village brought the Madhekars to the SL Raheja Fortis Hospital in Mahim for a check-up in early March. An MRI showed an unusual cucumber-shaped stone.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr Siddharth M Shah, who operated on Madhekar, said a medical literature search brought up only one mention of a large stone. “The largest stone was 20 cm, while the second one mentioned was 11 cm. Our patient’s stone measured 12 x 6 x 5.5 cm and needed to be removed in two parts,” he said. The medical team plans to submit the case study to a medical journal as “the stone is likely to be the largest, at least in India,” he said.
‘Multiple giant synovial chondromatosis’ occurs when the inner layer of the synovium, the knee joint, begins to secrete cartilage instead of lubricating fluid. “These nodules can break off and form loose bodies inside the knee,” the doctor said. Madhekar’s right knee contained four colossal stones, 12 cm one, as well as a dozen smaller osteochondromas (stones). news network