RIAO Orthopedic Surgeon Leads Mission Trip to India

More than 47 people from the city of Ludhiana in northern India received life-changing joint replacement surgery thanks to a team of 45 dedicated volunteers from Operation Walk Maryland. The hip and knee replacement surgeries were performed at no cost for people who were suffering from disabling arthritis. The recipients would never have had access to this type of care if not for the team of dedicated volunteers.

Operation Walk Maryland was founded by Harpall Khanuja, M.D., Director of Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics at Sinai Hospital and his wife Maria, an orthopedic nurse. Dr. Khanuja serves as medical director and Maria coordinates the never ending list of logistical details for the organization. Cargo and supplies are managed by Dotsie Czajkowski, a nurse practioner at the RIAO. This is the group’s third medical mission trip and it included volunteers from Sinai Hospital and eight other Baltimore-area medical institutions.

The group from Operation Walk Maryland obviously touched many lives during their time in India, but Dr. Khanuja expressed how the patients they treat also have a profound effect on the lives of the surgeons, doctors, nurses and volunteers that donate their time and expertise.

“There’s no doubt we get a lot of satisfaction from taking care of these patients,” said Dr. Khanuja, “It is quite humbling to have these very, very poor people thanking God for you, for not giving up on them and for treating them and changing their lives.”

“But I also value these trips as a way to introduce new people to this sort of medical mission work and seeing it grow,” he added. “I recently spoke to one of the physicians who went with us to India. He told me that this was the most rewarding thing he’s ever done in his medical career and how he’d like to be more involved in the future. That’s perhaps the most satisfying part for me.”

While there are other Operation Walk organizations throughout the country, each one is independent and self-funded through donations. Each team talks all the supplies and personnel to perform state of the art joint replacement surgery for free for poor people throughout the world. To learn more about Operation Walk Maryland, including photo galleries from their mission trips, click here.

Alternatives to Knee Surgery

No one is eager to have knee surgery. Luckily, there are options that can relieve pain.

Recently three orthopedic doctors from the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics (RIAO) gave a free lecture at LifeBridge Health & Fitness on the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis. Drs. Michael A. Mont, Ronald E. Delanois, and Harpal (Paul) S. Khanuja all informed their listeners about safe options to surgery. Thanks to the interactive nature of the lecture, the audience was able to address any concerns they had about their own hip and knee pains.

Dr. Mont began the lecture with an informal question and answer period. He started off by asking the audience “how would you treat joint pain?” The crowd reacted by shouting answers like “Aleve!” “Tylenol!”

“How many people think narcotics are appropriate for pain?” Few people raised their hands. “Many doctors are anti-narcotic” continued Dr. Mont, “but I have patients that think that narcotics are their best option. They take their prescribed dosages and it works great, but when the patient starts to increase their dosage, they may begin to get addicted.”

Tylenol and Aspirin can work just as well as any other medication, says Dr. Mont, but it is important that if you are taking those medications frequently, you get checked regularly because of the possible side effects on the kidney and liver. It is also important to note that when your pain level decreases, you should get off the meds!

Another alternative to surgery is a shot of cortisone. Dr. Mont says that he has given around 100,000 shots, and he notes few disadvantages.

He also recommends mild exercise, with concentration on exercises such as cycling, swimming, or using an elliptical machine. Patients should stay away from anything like a step machine or treadmill. He explained that “a typical step is 2-3 times body weight, and running puts 7-10 times body weight on your knees, which could create major pain for someone who has knee or hip osteoarthritis.”

Suggestions also included exercises to strengthen frontal muscles, hamstrings and side muscles . The RIAO also offers a detailed exercise sheet. Dr. Mont advises that 20 minutes of exercise every-other-day produces excellent results.

When people are in pain, surgery should not be their immediate thought. The physicians at the RIAO offer a variety of different treatments for pain including non-surgical methods. Over time, if the non-surgical methods don’t work, the physician will discuss the possibility of knee surgery.

To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call 410-601-WELL (9355).
-Jessica Oring

Health Care Hero Finalist: Harpal Khanuja, M.D.

The Maryland Daily Record's Health Care Heroes awards ceremony honors special caregivers who exemplify extraordinary commitment to their profession. The breakfast to honor the 2010 finalists is on Wednesday, March 24, but before the big day we wanted to use this space to profile the nominees.

Arthritis and other bone and joint conditions can often be debilitating, even with proper medical attention. Now imagine if you had no access to proper medical or surgical care. These conditions can quickly develop into a situation where common tasks become impossible.

Harpal Khanuja, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics at Sinai Hospital, gives patients in the developing world hope. Since 2006, Dr. Khanuja and his Operation Walk Maryland teams have been traveling to developing countries to provide free surgical and orthopedic care.

A national organization, Operation Walk was founded in 1994 by Lawrence D. Dorr, M.D. Operation Walk surgeons, nurses and health professionals have operated on more than 3,000 patients in Russia, Cuba, Nepal, China, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Mexico, El Salvador and the United States.

Operation Walk Maryland was founded by Dr. Khanuja and his wife Maria to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged patients across the globe who suffer from joint disease. Operation Walk Maryland provides free joint replacement surgery and care to impoverished individuals in need; all the care is free to the country and the individual.

Operation Walk Maryland raises over $100,000 a year. It has arranged donations and provided free care and supplies. In addition, Operation Walk Maryland educates local orthopedic surgeons and their health care teams about the current treatment and technologies available to treat individuals with debilitating joint disease.

Dr. Khanuja views Operation Walk as the most rewarding aspect of his career. He points out that not only is the team composed of the best trained providers in the United States, but the team members are also true ambassadors from Maryland to many parts of the world.

Dr. Khanuja's daily work as a surgeon at the Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement at Sinai Hospital is also a source of great pride. The center is composed of health care professionals with specialized training and expertise in all aspects of orthopedics and joint reconstruction surgery. Dr. Khanuja is a part of an interdisciplinary treatment team that includes orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, anesthesiologists and pain management specialists, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, physical and occupational therapists, social workers, case managers, surgical and orthopedic technologists, radiology technologists, administrators, secretaries, referral and financial coordinators, and other support staff.

Dr. Khanuja also is a researcher, developing and improving methods of joint preservation and replacement. Through the Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement and the internationally attended Hip Joint course, Dr. Khanuja provides education to orthopedic surgeons and health care professionals to observe and study hip resurfacing and reconstruction methods.