Vythiri: A get-together of patients who had undergone knee and hip replacement surgeries at the Vythiri Taluk Hospital, along with the medical team behind these surgeries, was held here on Sunday. The event was inaugurated by Priyanka Gandhi MP.

More than a hundred people have undergone joint replacement surgeries at the hospital. Among the participants were Chandran, the first patient to undergo knee replacement surgery at the facility and Thankamma, the first recipient of a hip replacement surgery performed there. Former Hospital Superintendent Dr Shijin John Aloor and other health workers who were part of these surgeries were felicitated by the MP.

Priyanka Gandhi also inaugurated the newly installed C-arm machine at the hospital and handed over the keys to a mobile dispensary unit. The C-arm machine was set up using Rs.20 lakh from the Local Area Development Fund of MLA T Siddique, while the vehicle for the mobile dispensary was purchased using Rs.10 lakh from the fund of MP Jebi Mather. T Siddique MLA presided over the function.

District Panchayat President Samshad Marakkar, Kalpetta Block Panchayat President Chandrika Krishnan, Vice President Fousiya Basheer, Vythiri Panchayat President M V Vijesh and Hospital Superintendent Dr Priya Senan also spoke on the occasion.