Positive Attitude helps!

A recent article in British Medical Journal discussed the importance of faith in management of any illness. The conclusion was mind blowing! 35% patients get better even on placebos if they have faith in their doctor and his speciality!

I want to narrate one such story of my friend and ex-patient Mr. Kirti bachani.

Kirti in his late thirties was standing on the platform of a Mumbai suburban railway station one fine morning.

He saw the train entering the station and as it was slowing down a lady standing next to him suddenly jumped in front of the train! Kirti jumped after her without hesitation to save her. He did save her but could not get out of the way himself! Kirti almost died on the spot. He was rushed to the Lilavati hospital gasping and fighting for life. He had fractured 7 ribs on each side which had punctured his lungs on both sides, he had multiple wounds on his face and he had a fractured right forearm. He was in ICU and on a ventilator. Multiple tubes and various pumps were attached to his body. He had multiple facial fractures, too. I was part of the team treating Kirti. I operated him to fix the fractures of his forearm. Slowly and steadily Kirti came out of ICU and started recovering from his wounds. Unfortunately his fractures did not heal the way they should have and he required another surgery. Then as luck would have it he developed infection in his forarm. He finished his bank balance in no time. However his smile never left him.

Kirti was pressurizd by friends and relatives to seek opinions, but Kirti came back and said "doctor, I know you will solve my problem". He has successfully overcome every single obstacle and now is back to work selling medical equipments to doctors. He suffered multiple medical complications and significant financial trauma but just the faith that his doctor would get him out of trouble saved him!

A positive attitude always helps and negative attitude lands many patients in complications which otherwise are rare. Be Positive.

I am Mr. Galgali from Airoli. I recently got both my knees replaced by Dr. Shreedhar Archik. I must admit that I am one of the guys who get scared even if the word hospital is uttered! I am 68 years old and the knee pain was disturbing my daily routine. I tried all drugs and physiotherapy but I used to get temporary relief. Then I heard about Dr. Shreedhar Archik. I met him at his clinic in Shivaji Park. He gave me 45 minutes of his time explaining the whole surgery. I realized that once I really got to know what I was getting into I felt a bit better. Then came the question of money as I am a retired reserve bank employee. I then realized that I would save 75,000 rupees if I got both my knees operated at one stage! Here I was scared of one surgery and Dr. Archik was telling me to get both done at the same time! I felt more scared. He then gave me telephone numbers of patients who had similar surgeries done. Speaking to them increased my confidence. I finally went ahead and got both my knees replaced at the same time at the Lilavati hospital. Now I walk with no pain, I can climb stairs and here I am sitting cross legged! My life has turned a new corner. I do not take any medicines. My advice to all knee sufferers is "get the knee replacement done" it will change your life. Call me if you want to ask any questions on 27690195.

(As told to her son, Mrs. Gagre is uneducated and speaks only Marathi)

My name is Anandibai Gagre. I am 76 years old lady from a tiny village in Konkan. I could barely walk when my son took me to see this doctor. He was talking about changing my knee cap. I was dead against any surgery. I have never visited a hospital before in my life! My knee pain was killing me. I could not go out of my own house. I felt depressed and always prayed to God that my life should end. My son could hardly afford this kind of money but when he started borrowing the money I felt I should rethink. I finally got both my knee replacements done at one go. Here I am sitting cross legged and I can now pray every day! I climb stirs and go for walks every day. I now feel that my decision was the right one. If you want to talk to me or my son Bhau please call on 9820103911.

This is my experience I would like to share on behalf of my father Mr. G. Vaz who underwent a knee replacement surgery.

My father had difficulty walking for the last couple of years and walked with a limp. He had earlier consulted a few doctors regarding his knee and although he was advised a knee replacement surgery he kept delaying the operation as he had a number of doubts in his mind and was not sure of what the final outcome would have been. He was also advised by various people with similar problems not to go in for the operation as they did not have any pleasant experiences after the surgery and many told him of various difficulties they had to face.

He then got to know about Dr. Shreedhar Archik – who advised him that he needs the do the surgery as his left knee joint was in a bad condition. Dr. Archik not only explained the entire operation procedure, the type of artificial knee that would be used but also discussed the recovery period after the surgery. We had a number of questions and doubts which Dr. Archik patiently answered. Most of all he gave my dad the confidence that he would be able to walk again in a few days after the operation with a little assistance.

My Dad was operated on 5^th May 07 and now 6 weeks later he is walking without any external assistance and climbing stairs as well. My Dad now feels he should have undergone the surgery earlier.

Thank you Dr. S Archik for your patience in clearing all our doubts and answering all the questions we had and most importantly for successfully performing the surgery.

Mr. Vaz is available on the following number 022 26666174 if you need to ask him any queries

Mr. Hemant Gupte walked into my clinic one day very keen to improve his quality of life. He loves walking and was terribly worried about his knee pain and the way he walked. After going through his investigations I suggested that he should get both his knees replaced. He immediately agreed and asked me to do both the knees in one sitting. I am normally apprehensive about 2 surgeries in one go for patients above the age of 75 years. Mr. Gupte had different ideas. He said look doctor I have no medical illnesses, my heart is young and beating away normally, please go ahead and do 2 at a time, I know I will be alright.

I did finally operate Mr. Gupte in one go and he was out of the hospital in 7 days. The next surprise was that he climbed down 2 stories and came walking to my clinic for stitch removal on the 15^th day! You can see him in short pants walking around Shivaji Park, Dadar.

Bottom-line: Age is no bar for the knee replacement surgery! And positive attitude means early recovery.

Call Mr. Hemant Gupte on 24301048 to discuss his life after knee replacement surgery.

Many patients ask me if I can show them patients who have had a pain free knee replacement for years together. Everyone now knows the long term results are more important than the short term results. Mrs. Betty Sequera is one of such patients. She finished 7 tears recently and has been faithfully coming to me every year to get her knee checked. Contact Mrs. Sequera on 022 29200475 to learn how her life changed after the knee replacement surgery.