Cucumber-Sized Stones Removed From Man's Knee In Rare Surgery After It Affected Mobility

In an extremely rare surgery in India, the doctors at a hospital removed cucumber-sized stones from a 70-year-old man's right knee.

The large multiple stones had affected the mobility of the patient, identified as Laxmikant Madhekar.

The 70-year-old had been suffering from severe pain in the right knee for a year. Even before the pain started, Madhekar had swelling in the knee for the past decade.

"It affected his overall mobility, difficulties in walking, climbing stairs, or even getting up after sitting," consultant orthopedic and joint replacement surgeon Dr Siddharth Shah said, Gulf News reported, citing IANS.

The surgery was conducted at S.L. Raheja Hospital in the western city of Mumbai.

Dr. Shah conducted several tests on Madhekar, and diagnosed the problem as an extremely rare condition called "Multiple Giant Synovial Chondromatosis" of the knee joint. The doctor then prepared a suitable treatment plan for Madhekar.

Local media reports said the surgery took place on March 10.

Dr. Shah said this condition affects one person in every 1,00,000 people in which the inner lining of the knee joint produces nodules of cartilage instead of the normal secretion of a lubricating fluid, Gulf News reported.

"These modules break off, become loose bodies inside the knee, usually small like pills or bigger ones the size of a marble. In Madhekar's case, there were multiple, giant nodules, more prominent in size, which is an even rarer variant of this condition," Dr Shah said.

The largest stone extracted from Madhekar was 12x6x5.5 cm in size, The Times of India reported. Doctors said this stone was so large it had to be broken and removed in two pieces. A total of four similar-sized giants and dozens of smaller stones were taken out of his knee joint.

Dr. Shah added this was the second-largest knee-stone removal in the world.

"... the patient is well on his way to recovery. He will now be able to walk and perform his daily activities without any pain or discomfort," said Dr Shah.