JBCH Kolkata, an orthopaedic and multispeciality hospital, says it has performed Eastern India’s first ankle replacement. The hospital announced the procedure at a press conference in September. The operation was carried out on 19 July 2026 by Dr Soura Sekhar Saha, an orthopaedic surgeon with a clinical fellowship in foot and ankle surgery from the National University Hospital in Singapore.
A 13-year problem brought to JBCH Kolkata
The patient, 33-year-old Saswata Kundu from Bolpur in Birbhum district, fractured his left ankle in an accident 13 years ago and had surgery at the time. Over the following years he developed post-traumatic arthritis, which progressively damaged the joint and made walking increasingly difficult. After a clinical evaluation at JBCH, the team decided ankle replacement was the right treatment for his advanced arthritis.
Dr Saha called ankle replacement “a technically demanding procedure that requires careful patient selection” and specialised expertise. The aim, he said, was to relieve symptoms, restore ankle function and improve mobility. The hospital reports that Mr Kundu is doing well and that his mobility has improved significantly. Dr Joydeep Banerjee Chowdhury, an orthopaedic surgeon at JBCH Kolkata, described the surgery as a milestone for specialised orthopaedic care in the region.
The hospital did not disclose the implant used, and the “first in Eastern India” claim is its own and has not been independently verified.
Ankle replacement in India
Total ankle arthroplasty is still uncommon in India compared with hip and knee replacement. Ankle fusion remains the standard operation for end-stage ankle arthritis in most centres. Replacement is mainly offered in a small number of specialist units in the large metros, so patients outside them often have to travel long distances for it. Post-traumatic arthritis, the most common cause of ankle arthritis, often affects people of working age, as in this case.
IMEA POD Perspective
Bringing ankle replacement to a new region of India widens the choice for patients who would otherwise face fusion or a long journey to a metro centre. A patient aged 33 is, however, younger than most ankle replacement candidates. Implants in young, active people face decades of load, and revision ankle surgery is complex. Their long-term survivorship is the key question, and it can only be answered by careful follow-up. That makes the case for an Indian ankle arthroplasty registry, so that results from centres such as JBCH Kolkata can be tracked and shared. Success also depends on the wider team. Podiatrists, pedorthists and physiotherapists can help before and after surgery with offloading, footwear and orthoses, gait retraining and long-term monitoring of the opposite foot and adjacent joints. Foot and ankle surgeons starting replacement programmes should build those links from day one.
Read more: First Total Ankle Replacements Done With Stryker’s CT-Guided Prophecy Incompass and India Mourns Prof Sureshwar Pandey, Father of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
Sources and further reading
- Financial Samachar: JBCH Sets New Orthopaedic Benchmark with Eastern India’s First Ankle Replacement (8 September 2026)
- NewsNation360: The First Ankle Replacement Surgery in Eastern India Gives a 33-year-old Newfound Mobility