It is a step in the right direction, literally, for patients with bone cancer, with the Government of Tamil Nadu approving in principle the establishment of the first Bone Bank in the country in the Government General Hospital, Chennai. Leading the way is a man who dares to walk off the beaten track and who helps his patients do it as well. He is Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Madras Medical College & Research Institute, Chennai. He has been working for many years now in the field of Orthopedic Oncology, an area of Orthopedics that is not very popular. At one time, amputation was considered to be absolutely necessary for durable local control of bone cancer, but the functional, psychological and social aftermath of such a surgery was devastating. This led to the concept of limb salvage and it is in this area that Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan has done pioneering work in India. After resetting the part of the bone that has cancer, the defect is replaced with a custom-made prosthesis made of stainless steel or titanium. Instead of using an imported prosthesis which costs around RS.3-4 lakhs, Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan has managed to get it made indigenously in Chennai at ten percent of the cost. It was this aspect of indigenous self -reliance which was commended by our president, Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam in his foreword to a book on "Custom Mega Prosthesis and Limb Salvage Surgery" by Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan.

Wanting to take limb salvage surgery a step further, Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan mooted the idea of a bone bank, where cadaveric bone and joints could be stored and later used to mend large segmental bone defects as a result of bone tumor resection or trauma or in revision surgery of joint replacement. At present, the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai is doing work in this field but on a much smaller scale.

A full-fledged bone bank would enable cadaveric bones and joints to be stored at 180°C for a period of three years. This deep-frozen irradiated bone allograft, as they are called, could then be transplanted and used anywhere in the country. In fact, on 8th July 2003, a patient with bone cancer of the leg is to undergo the first ever cadaveric bone and joint transplantation surgery in India at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Government General Hospital, Chennai. The bone and joint allograft has been imported from the Tissue Bank in Sri Lanka. The surgical team headed by Prof. Mayil Vahanan Natarajan and comprising of dynamic young surgeons like Dr.Jaheer Hussian, Dr. S.Natarajan and others will be creating history of sorts in the field of transplantation in India on that day