With the assistance of the physicians of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) Department at Government Rajaji Hospital, a 41-year-old woman who lost both her legs to diabetes, was given active movement and life through bilateral trans femoral prosthesis.
As Kalimathevi, mother of two school going girl children, due to unmanaged diabetes, lost both her legs, she was admitted to the Department of PMR for further treatment.
G. K. Scindia, Assistant Professor, Department of PMR, termed the patient as bilateral transfemoral amputee of dysvascular etiology who had completely lost her voluntary movement due to the medical treatment.
“Through a comprehensive rehabilitation which involved subjecting her to neuropathic medication, Oral Hypoglycemic Agent (OHA), antidepressants, her body was prepared for accepting the prothesis which was fabricated in the hospital’s Advanced Life Support Care (ALSC),” she added.
Following the process of fitting the prothesis, the patient underwent rehabilitation, psychological support and vocational training for a period of three months, Dr. Scindia noted.
As the process would demand 200% effort from the patient to regain her movement after such an arduous medical process, effective psychological support provided gave her the strength to continue her life independently, she observed.
On the recommendation of the doctors to the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), she was supported with a three-wheeled battery-operated tricycle.
She pointed out that it was not just adding more years to her life, it was adding life to her years.
Following the rehabilitation she has taken up the job of a gig worker by delivering foods and it exemplified the true essence of rehabilitation medicine, said Dr. Scindia.
Published - April 14, 2025 10:19 pm IST
