Dr. Pankaj Jindal has crossed the milestone of 30,000 hand surgeries since he began practising in Pune in 1991, a figure that spans acute hand trauma, birth differences of the hand, arthritic conditions and nerve compressions of the hand and foot.
In an interview with The Indian Express, he recalled his very first patient: a 14-year-old boy whose minor hand injury had spiralled into a series of complications. Rebuilding that hand meant reconstructing bone, joints, nerves, skin and tendons, several of them made or harvested specifically for the case. The boy recovered full use of his hand.
The milestone also includes more than 50 replantations of completely amputated hands and fingers. Beyond his operating room, Dr. Jindal runs charity surgical camps that correct hand deformities in rural communities, over 900 patients treated free of cost, with children given priority.
Dr. Jindal, who has chaired the hand surgery section of the Indian Orthopaedic Association, continues to practise at Sardesai Clinic on Senapati Bapat Road, Pune.