He Will Grow With A Remote-Controlled Leg, After The Cancerous Tumour Was

Removed From His Knee

BENGALURU: This 10-year-old cancer patient from Sri Lanka has his limb remote-controlled. To
ensure that he doesn't undergo surgical procedures often, doctors have increased the length of
the magnetic metallic implant on his left leg through remote-control. The implant was placed
after a cancerous tumour was removed from his knee.
Binura Lakvindu from Colombo, who was diagnosed with bone cancer, underwent surgery at
BGS Global Hospital, Bengaluru, recently.

"For Binura, we have implanted the expandable prosthesis that has an in-built magnetic disc,
gear box and a telescoping rod. The growth anticipated from that bone was calculated and the
prosthesis was designed accordingly. He has to visit the hospital once in three months and
place his leg in a magnetic coil, and the limb will be lengthened by 1 mm in 4 minutes. The
required length will be achieved without additional surgeries. Binura will have limb growth up
to 14 to 15 years," said explains Dr Srinivas C H, consultant, orthopaedic onco-surgeon, who
operated on Binura.
He developed pain in the knee in July, 2014. "We noticed him limping and avoiding cricket, his
favourtite sport. We consulted a local physician who prescribed him medicines for pain. But the
pain didn't subside and a month later, we noticed swelling above his knee. An orthopaedic
surgeon in Colombo suggested that this could be a tumour in his thigh bone and advised
treatment in Bengaluru," says Mallikarachchige L R, Binura's father.

HOW DOES IT WORK

When the prosthesis is placed in the magnetic field, it leads to rotation of the magnetic disc at
16,000 rpm (revolutions per minute). The telescoping rod moves, resulting in expansion of the
prosthesis. The tailor-made implant was imported from the UK to suit the unique specifications
of Binura. This technique is tried only on paediatric cases with bone cancer.