India
Briton too overweight for NHS, not for Indian doctors
By IANS
Apr 1, 2006, 14:24

A Briton who was told by the National Health Service (NHS) that he was too overweight to undergo a life-changing operation has returned home satisfied after undergoing the surgery in India.

David Rogers, 62, from Abbeydale, Worcestershire, was told by the NHS that he was too overweight for the double hip and knee replacements that he desperately needed. Weighing almost 140 kg, he was told that he was about 37 kg too heavy for the surgery.

A satisfied Rogers remarked that he had been "thrown on the scrap heap by the NHS".

He reduced his weight to about 115 kg but could not go further to shed 12 more kg that was required for the surgery as his joints had made him immobile.

"I was in so much pain I couldn't lie in bed at night and had to sleep sitting in a chair. It was a vicious cycle because I couldn't do any exercise, so I struggled to lose any more weight," Rogers told the local media.

His wife saw a television programme about Britons flying to India for medical treatment and further investigations led her to a website that offers people access to top-class medical treatment in India.

The London-based manager of the website put the couple on to one Dr Nagaraj who was visiting London.

Rogers said: "I couldn't believe it - a surgeon actually came to my house, all the way from India. He put me at ease straight away and asked when I could go over for the operations."

Two weeks later, Rogers flew out to the Deepak Hospital, Dr Nagaraj's family hospital in Bangalore, for the first phase of major surgery - to reconstruct the knee and hip on the right side, at a cost of 10,000 pounds.

"I can't speak more highly of the nurses and surgeons there. The treatment I received was first class," said Rogers.

After two lengthy, complicated operations, he recuperated at a nearby retreat, and returned to Redditch recently.

"I can't believe the difference it has made to my life. I would recommend treatment over there to anyone," said Rogers, who is preparing for a return trip to India next January for work on the other hip and knee.

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