Aruppukottai government hospital uses new technique to fix fracture

For the first time in a government hospital in Virudhunagar district, the District Headquarters Hospital at Aruppukottai has used a new technique, Minimally Invasive Reductive Osteosynthesis System (MIROS), to fix the proximal humerus fracture on a woman patient.

A team of doctors used the new technique that eliminated the need for conventional surgical incisions. This also minimised soft tissue trauma and early post operative rehabilitation.

When Sivagami, a 47-year-old woman came with a fractured right humerus, Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services Senthil Kumar, and Chief Medical Officer Murgaeswaran, advised the team of doctors to adopt the new technique that would give faster post-operative recuperation to the patient.

Orthopaedicians Somumurthy Nagarajan, PackkyaRathinam, and Arunachalam, along with Anaesthetists Jegamani and Rajkumar performed the osteosynthesis using MIROS technique that does not require internal plates or screws to fix the fracture.

Dr. Somumurthy explained that the fracture was anatomically reduced using specialised closed reduction method under the guidance of C-arm without surgically exposing the fracture site.

“This avoids large surgical scars, minimises blood loss and promotes faster recovery of muscle function,” he said.

As part of new technique, specially engineered elastic wires were used for precise fracture manipulation while providing stable fixation. The wires were secured using high-strength precision clamps.

“The patient would not require plaster, casts or slings. This facilitated early joint movement, minimising stiffness and accelerates functional recovery,” Dr. Somumurthy added.

The District Headquarters Hospital is also taking up replacement surgeries. The doctors were using Ilizarov technique for treating complicated infected and non-union fracture cases.