Surgery enables boy to read Braille script

BENGALURU: The son of a police constable in Vijayapura, Varun K Bellubbi, was dealt a raw deal by fortune - born blind, deformities in his right upper limb, besides a near 90° deviation in his right forearm. The deformities in his thumb and fingers meant that Varun, 12, could not read the Braille script. However, a reconstructive surgery performed at a city hospital recently has redressed this malady, and Varun can now read the Braille script and harbours hopes of excelling in academics.
Varun's mother is confident that her son will now be able to lead a better life. "My son is intelligent, but he could not read the script quickly. To read Braille script quickly, you need to have hands that can run along the page in a straight line, which he was unable to do," she said.
Hand and reconstructive surgeon at Hosmat Hospital, where Varun underwent the surgery, Dr Kannan Kumar said, "In Varun's right hand, the index finger was rudimentary, his thumb was elongated and had three bones - normally it has two. The thumb also had a poor range of motion, and his right arm was shorter than his left by about 40%. These hurdles prevented Varun from performing his dail y activities."
Doctors at the hospital performed a rare reconstructive surgery on October 19, which involved straightening his hand and fingers through a complex realignment of the bones in his forearm and wrist, Dr Kumar said. "This will enable him to read the Braille script," he added.
Chief of the orthopaedic department at Hosmat Hospital, Dr Thomas Chandy said, "It was a successful operation that took several hours. The patient needs to undergo another surgery about six months later to increase the length of his right forearm. This procedure will increase his mobility."