Tendon Transfer Cost in Chennai, India

The cost of tendon transfer in Chennai typically ranges from $510 to $4,900 USD (about ₹48,400 to ₹4.65 lakh), depending on the hospital, room category and type of procedure.

A typical estimate for tendon transfer in Chennai is around $1,650 (about ₹1.57 lakh). What you pay depends mainly on your own case. If a standard implant is used and you stay in a shared room, your bill is likely to be closer to $510 (about ₹48,400). It is likely to be nearer $4,900 (about ₹4.65 lakh) if a specialised implant is used, both sides are treated, it is a repeat operation or you choose a private room.

When comparing Chennai packages for tendon transfer, check whether each quote includes:

• Surgeon and anaesthetist fees
• Operating theatre or procedure room
• Implants, plates or screws
• Physiotherapy
• Hospital stay and room category
• Medicines and consumables
• Follow-up visits before you fly home

Tendon transfer moves a working tendon from its usual place so it can take over the job of a tendon or muscle that no longer works, for example after a tendon rupture or nerve injury.

The British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) gives the example of rupture of the thumb's long extensor tendon (EPL), which straightens the end joint of the thumb and can rupture after a wrist fracture or in rheumatoid arthritis.

BSSH makes clear that the torn ends generally cannot be joined directly, so a graft or a transfer of a nearby tendon is used.

BSSH observes that surgery is generally not urgent unless other tendons are at risk, that a splint is normally worn for three to six weeks, and that hand therapy teaches the brain to use the transferred tendon.

Tendon transfers are also used after nerve injuries and in some neurological conditions, choosing a donor tendon whose loss causes little weakness.

Fitness to fly: aviation guidance has no single figure for bone and joint surgery, but leg operations make clots on long flights more likely, so ask about prevention; the UK Civil Aviation Authority's medical guidance suggests 24 to 48 hours after a plaster cast.

In Chennai, the price of tendon transfer is generally built from these parts:

• Assessment before surgery: X-rays, scans and a fitness check.
• Theatre and anaesthetic: billed largely on operating time.
• Implant: the make and model of joint, plate or screws.
• Physiotherapy: while you are in hospital and after you leave.
• Tendon: which one and the job it takes over.
• Anaesthesia: general or arm block.
• Splint: for three to six weeks.
• Hand therapy: to retrain movement.

Ask each Chennai hospital for an itemised costing showing any implant, surgeon, theatre, stay and hand therapy or physiotherapy, so offers can be compared fairly.

Orthopaedic departments in Chennai handle joint replacement, arthroscopy and trauma, generally with physiotherapists on site so that you start moving soon after surgery.

Hospitals in Chennai can hold NABH accreditation, India's national quality standard set by a board of the Quality Council of India and itself accredited by ISQua, and the NABH website shows whether an accreditation is still valid.

Joint Commission International (JCI) accredits a number of Indian hospitals, and its public directory lets you check whether a Chennai hospital on your shortlist is currently included.

Foreign patients can apply online for an Indian e-Medical visa, and family members who travel with them for an e-Medical Attendant visa; the official visa website lists the current conditions.