Vizag KIMS doctors pull off rare surgery using bone from brain-dead donor to restore shoulder

Visakhapatnam: In a rare medical breakthrough, doctors at KIMS Hospitals Seethammadhara have successfully restored shoulder function in a patient using a bone graft harvested from a brain-dead donor.

While organ transplants from such donors are relatively common, the use of donor bone for joint reconstruction and mobility restoration remains uncommon.

Bone graft brought from bone bank in Bengaluru

According to Dr Srinivas Gollangi, Consultant Sports Orthopaedic and Arthroscopic Surgeon specialising in shoulder procedures, the surgery involved procuring a bone graft from a bone bank in Bengaluru and transporting it to Visakhapatnam for the complex reconstruction.

The patient, a 40-year-old resident of the city, had been suffering from recurrent shoulder dislocations triggered by epilepsy-related falls. Despite undergoing multiple surgeries earlier, his condition persisted, severely impacting his quality of life.

Condition too complex for conventional treatment

“Detailed evaluation showed extensive damage to the rotator cuff muscles along with a significant bone defect in the humeral head. Conventional arthroscopic procedures were unlikely to offer a lasting solution,” the doctor explained.

The medical team first stabilised the patient’s epilepsy before proceeding with an open rotator cuff repair combined with allograft bone grafting. The donor bone was used to reconstruct the damaged portion of the shoulder, restoring both structural integrity and stability.

An allograft involves the transplantation of tissue from one individual to another. In this case, bone obtained from a brain-dead donor was used to rebuild the patient’s shoulder joint.

“The procedure addressed both soft tissue damage and joint instability. The patient has recovered well and is now able to carry out daily activities independently,” Dr Gollangi said.