Free Ligament Surgery at Jessore Government Hospital Lets Narail Teenager Ikramul Walk Again

Sixteen-year-old Ikramul Molla injured a knee ligament while playing football. After a month of medicine failed to ease the pain, he came for treatment to the 250-bed Jessore General Hospital. After examinations, doctors told him surgery was needed for him to recover.

A private clinic had put the cost of that surgery at about 200,000 taka. Ikramul's home is in Tarashi village in Narail Sadar upazila. His father, Bashir Molla, cannot see with one eye, and apart from a homestead on just 8 decimals of land the family has no significant assets. Raising that money was therefore almost impossible for the family.

After a month of medicine without relief, his mother Salma Begum brought him to Jessore General Hospital. Tests showed a knee ligament injury and that surgery was required. Hearing that the operation would cost about 200,000 taka left Salma Begum distraught.

At that point the hospital's orthopedic surgeon, Dr S K Rajibul Islam, stood beside the family. Learning of their financial hardship, he took responsibility for the surgery himself.

On 7 October, Dr Rajibul Islam performed an advanced arthroscopic ACL operation on Ikramul's knee ligament at Jessore General Hospital itself. The surgery was completed free of charge at the hospital, though the family had to bear the cost of medicines needed after the operation according to their means.

Dr Rajibul Islam says this kind of surgery is the first in the history of Jessore General Hospital. He said he learned of the family's helplessness while seeing patients on his regular ward rounds, then told the family the operation would be done at Jessore General Hospital. With the family's consent, the surgery was completed on 7 October.

Ikramul is now largely recovered. He has almost no pain in his leg, is receiving care at home and is gradually able to walk. Dr Rajibul Islam regularly checks on him. Ikramul said, 'I have no pain in my leg now. I can walk reasonably well.'

Dr S K Rajibul Islam is a specialist in orthopedic surgery. He passed his MBBS from Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College. His qualifications include D-Orth, BCS (Health) and FCPS (Orthopedic Surgery). He recently completed a fellowship in arthroscopic knee ligament surgery in Delhi, India.

The superintendent of the 250-bed Jessore General Hospital, Hussain Shafayat, said they try to give patients the best possible service despite many difficulties. However, the hospital's operation theatres have to be shared and there is also a shortage of necessary manpower.

Hussain Shafayat added that completing such a complex operation despite those limits will raise the government hospital's treatment capacity as well as public trust. To his knowledge, this kind of ligament surgery is the first at Jessore General Hospital, and they want advanced and expensive treatment to be available regularly at government hospitals so ordinary people do not have to depend on private hospitals or clinics for such care.