The pain in her left knee for 20 long years was too much for 66-year old Kanala Sarada, a retired municipal school teacher of Madanapalle, to endure but there was really no option as she could not snatch time from her busy schedule for the bilateral total knee replacement surgery and the post-operative recuperation.
Similarly, K. Saraswathi (66), wife of a retired teacher of Chittoor, suffered from bent knees for 30 long years.
As her bones got softened and medicines stopped working, her husband concluded that surgery was the only way out, which he went for post-retirement. Padma Bai (54), mother of a transport department official, also underwent a similar knee surgery last month.
The case of 75-year-old V.S. Radhakrishna Pillai of Tirupati is no different. The Assistant Paramedical Officer, who retired long back in Kalikiri, was suffering from psoriatic arthritis. He was initially treated for controlling psoriasis and the surgery for arthritis was done after containing the psoriatic degeneration that had damaged his skin and subsequently the joints.
In all the above cases, the victims did not prefer to mitigate their suffering instantly for two reasons. Firstly, their busy schedule while in service and secondly, the ordeal of having to pay from their pocket and get the money reimbursed later.
Thanks to the cashless treatment introduced by the State Government recently, employees are increasingly making use of the facility, which is evident from the steady flow of patients in designated hospitals. Interestingly, a lion’s share of the patients include senior citizens in the form of pensioners or employees on the verge of retirement, who want to treat their knee problems. “An extended lease of life to our damaged knees means a happy retired life,” a visibly-relaxed Mr. Pillai told The Hindu .
“Going by a case-to-case study, we are getting double the number of knee replacement surgery cases compared to last month’s average,” says Rajesh Mallavaram, joint replacement surgeon at the Tirupati-based Sri Chakra Hospital. All that a permanent employee or a pensioner has to do is to show the Employee Health Scheme (EHS) card at admission and get the treatment/surgery done.
The designated hospitals will follow it up with the government in getting the amount reimbursed.
