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Knee & Hip Replacement in Mumbai
for Patients from Kenya
What a patient travelling from Kenya actually needs to know: the flight, the visa, what to budget, and who looks after you once you are back in Nairobi.
Personal reply from Dr. Kachare within 24 hours (IST). Free for international patients: X-ray review and first video consultation, with no obligation. You deal with him personally, start to finish. Prefer email? theprotonium@protonmail.com
Getting Here
The Journey from Nairobi
Mumbai is a direct flight from Nairobi — about six and a quarter hours, with Kenya Airways and IndiGo between them running roughly sixteen flights a week. That is shorter than the flight to most European destinations and it matters more than it sounds: a shorter flight home after joint surgery means less time immobile, and less clot risk.
From Mombasa or Kisumu you will connect through Nairobi. Build in a night in Nairobi before the outbound leg if the connection is tight — arriving exhausted for pre-operative tests is a poor start.
Paperwork
Your Visa Route
Kenya is on the official e-Visa list, so Kenyan passport holders can apply for the e-Medical Visa online at indianvisaonline.gov.in, which suits a straightforward knee or hip replacement. For revision surgery or complex cases, apply for the regular medical visa at the High Commission of India in Nairobi.
Yellow fever: Kenya is on the list of yellow-fever endemic countries that India’s Ministry of Health applies to arriving passengers, so carry a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate — the original card, given at least ten days before you arrive. Without one you can be quarantined for up to six days. Details are on the Ministry of Health point-of-entry page.
The full medical visa guide — which visa, the invitation letter, and attendant visas →
Cost
What You Should Budget
Indian hospitals quote a surgical package, and the implant is not included in it. Ask that question of anyone quoting you a price, anywhere in India.
A single knee or hip runs roughly $3,400 to $5,000 for the package and implant together; both knees in one trip, $5,300 to $8,000. Flights, visa, accommodation and physiotherapy after discharge sit outside that.
While You Are Here
Language, Practicalities and Timing
English is the working language of the hospital, the clinic and every consultation, so nothing is lost in translation — which is not true of every destination Kenyan patients are offered.
Mumbai has a long-established East African community, and the food, the pharmacies and the practicalities are easier to navigate than most first-time visitors expect. September to March is the most comfortable time of year to be recovering here; the monsoon months from June to September make getting about with a walking frame harder than it needs to be.
Afterwards
Follow-Up Once You Are Home
Nairobi has good orthopedic follow-up, and the intention is always that your own doctor takes over routine care. You fly home with operative notes, implant details and imaging so that any orthopedic surgeon in Kenya can pick up from there, plus video review with Dr. Kachare at six weeks, three months and a year.
If a serious problem appears months later you will be treated where you are, not in Mumbai — that is true of every medical travel arrangement anywhere. What reduces the risk is complete documentation and a surgeon who stays reachable.
Next Step
Start by Sending Your Imaging
Free for international patients: X-ray review and first video consultation, with no obligation. Neither requires you to travel. Send your X-rays or CT on WhatsApp or by email with a short history — your age, how long the pain has lasted, what has already been tried, and any previous surgery — and you will get a personal reply from Dr. Kachare, the surgeon who would operate, within 24 hours (IST).
The first video consultation is free, so you can see him and ask your questions before anything is booked. You deal with him personally, start to finish. If the honest answer is that you do not need surgery yet, or that it is better done closer to home, you will be told that.
Kenya
Travelling from Kenya — Frequently Asked
Usually, once you compare like with like — but you must add flights and about three weeks of accommodation to the surgical figure, and for one straightforward knee the gap can narrow considerably. Where India makes clear sense is bilateral surgery, revision of a failed replacement, or anything needing a specialist implant. Get a written quote from both sides and compare totals, not headline prices.
Almost certainly not for a routine joint replacement. The Social Health Authority’s overseas package, which began in April 2026, covers only procedures not available in Kenya — and knee and hip replacement are performed in Kenya. It also names a very short list of approved overseas hospitals, and caps the benefit at Ksh 500,000, which is roughly the whole cost of this surgery anyway.
Assume you are paying privately. Some private insurers — Jubilee, AAR, Britam, Old Mutual among them — do reimburse overseas treatment under certain policies. Ask yours in writing before you travel, and tell Dr. Kachare at the outset that you will need itemised invoices and full medical reports in the format your insurer wants. That is easy to arrange in advance and nearly impossible afterwards.
Yes — up to two blood relatives can travel on MED X attendant visas issued alongside yours. Bring someone if you possibly can. The first fortnight after a joint replacement is when help matters most.
Send your X-ray or CT on WhatsApp for an assessment from the surgeon
Personal reply from Dr. Kachare within 24 hours (IST). Free for international patients: X-ray review and first video consultation, with no obligation. You deal with the surgeon personally, start to finish. Email: theprotonium@protonmail.com · How the free X-ray review works →