The Indian Cartilage Society held its 3rd Congress in Ahmedabad last week, where they hosted a couple of events. Founded in 2004 by Dr Deepak Goyal, the aim of the meet is simple; Preserve The Joint. With over 1,300 doctors in the association, they are working to spread awareness on cartilage preservation. Dr Goyal brought the concept that cartilages can be repaired, something many doctors are completely unaware of.
Dr Goyal said, “ICS looks forward to change the mindset that joint pain means knee replacement. There were 700,000 replacement surgeries in America alone last year. The worrying part is that as the number of cases increase, many of the patients are of the young age, ending the common belief that knee replacement is for old people. Now the number of old and the young patients is almost equal.” ICS Congress Secretary Satish Patel said, “There is always a window period in cartilage injury, wherein no pain is felt until almost 70% damage has already occurred. ICS wants to spread proper awareness. It is not just the general public, doctors are ignorant of the fact that in a fracture, the cartilage can also be repaired. We gather national and international doctors every two years and provide them with a platform where they all get a chance to share their knowledge.”
Dr Goyal added, “The doctors need to be educated on the subject foremost. Our motto is clear; Care, Preserve, Repair. With our patients, we offer them manageable techniques and methods to preserve their joints. Our doctors suggest weight loss, lifestyle modifications, and disease modifying drugs with no side-effects. The worst problem is the consumption of painkillers, it is incessant.”
The two-day meet saw live surgeries on meniscus tear, micro-fracture, mosaicplasty, knee cap dislocation, among others. There were international speakers and around 60 lectures and/or talks on cartilage and joint preservation. Dr Patel said, “The idea is to clearly differentiate between repair and replace as two different sciences.”
