Dr. Jagadish Surannavar turns saviour for the poor, does 200 orthopaedic surgeries for free

Team Udayavani, Oct 12, 2021, 10:30 AM IST

Setting an example of social welfare, Dr. Jagadish Surannavar, an Orthopedic Surgeon in Karnataka, is aiding the poor who cannot afford orthopaedic surgeries. Dr. Surannavar, backed with 7 years of professional practice as a surgeon, has been conducting joint replacement and arthroscopy surgeries in Belgaum, Karnataka for free.

“Out of all the surgeries that I do, 50% of people are below the poverty line. So, I do surgeries free of cost for such patients in my region. I have been consulting with patients at the KLE Centenary Charitable Hospital in my city and doing free surgeries for the needy for the last 4 to 5 years.”

Dr. Surannvar started doing this more actively, shortly after the pandemic struck last year. Garbed in a surgical gown and armed with incision instruments, he performs 2 to 3 surgeries every month for his poverty-stricken patients. This has become one of his many medical missions.

His primary patients are those suffering from sports injury to the shoulder or who need a knee replacement and have no money to spend on surgery.

“Joint replacement surgeries and arthroscopy are expensive. People in rural areas don’t have money, and their situation has worsened post-covid.

They cannot afford treatments at big speciality hospitals. I want to make healthcare affordable and facilitate treatments for them under Ayushman Bharat Yojana. So, I and my team provide them with the same quality of treatment at an affordable cost and treat the ones who are not in the state to afford any treatment at all, for free. We also conduct health camps regularly.”

He has done up to 200 free surgeries to date. Among his patients are older people who are mostly treated for knee replacements and some younger ones who need to go through arthroscopy for severe sports injuries. He has done 500 joint replacement surgeries and 4000 successful knee & shoulder arthroscopies till now.

He has operated on many national players who are comfortably continuing their sports and visits various orthopedic centres in North Karnataka and South Maharashtra to perform arthroscopy surgeries.

PASSION TO SERVE

Dr. Jagadish Surannavar says his passion to serve the less fortunate is inspired by his parents and mentors in medical school. He has always felt an inner calling to help the poor and serve the community.
Without enough money for surgery, many people with these injuries and problems wouldn’t be able to walk and will remain in pain life-long.

Inability to walk would also make them dependent on somebody else for carrying out routine tasks. After successful surgeries, they continue to live dignified and physically fit life. “They have to be treated so that they can walk again and lead a normal life,” he said.

Dr. Surannvar hasn’t partnered with any NGO or organization for making this happen. He provides these services on his own, with help from his team at his clinic. He is a HealthPlix doctor since September 2020. He adds “HealthPlix is a great EMR for online and offline consultations. It is easy to maintain patient records in it and the software design is very doctor friendly.”

HealthPlix salutes Dr. Jagadish Surannavar’s passion to serve the community and appreciates his extraordinary efforts.

Dr. Jagadish Surannavar (MBBS, MS Ortho, FAMS) is a joint replacement surgeon and sports injury specialist practicing in Belgaum, Karnataka.