You’ve been called the ‘Father of Arthroscopic Surgery.’ Why?
Dr. Patel: Well, first of all, I focused on making sure everyone knows what is possible. If you teach and train people, this is done. The second thing is the design of instruments. They may be calling me “Father,” but there are many, many fathers. I’m one of the people who took an active interest in self-learning, self-teaching, self-doing, and promoting this technology all over the world. I’ve taught all over the world. I was the first official foreign guest of the Japanese Arthroscopy Society. I’ve also taught in Italy, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. I’m considerably interested in emerging countries. The value of arthroscopic surgery is there. If you look emerging countries, the infection rate in extremely high, and healthcare is too scarce. People who are small farmers or poor people, they may not want to see a doctor to open the knee as in traditional knee surgery. They fear being disabled for years, when they are the “bread winner” for their family. So arthroscopic
