Home/The UAE
Knee & Hip Replacement in Mumbai
for Patients from the UAE
What a patient travelling from the UAE actually needs to know: the flight, the visa, what to budget, and who looks after you once you are back in Dubai.
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 Dubai
Dubai to Mumbai is a flight of about three hours, and one of the busiest routes out of the Gulf — Emirates alone schedules up to 35 flights a week, alongside Air India, IndiGo and flydubai. There are direct flights from Abu Dhabi and Sharjah too.
That short journey changes what is possible: a consultation visit before committing is realistic, family can fly in and out during recovery, and an in-person review later is not an expedition.
Paperwork
Your Visa Route
What matters is your passport, not your residence. UAE nationals are on the official e-Visa list and can apply for the e-Medical Visa online. The portal also offers visa on arrival to UAE nationals who have previously held an Indian e-Visa or paper visa, but for planned surgery the e-Medical Visa is the right route.
Most people living in the UAE are expatriates, and they apply according to their own nationality — many nationalities are e-Visa eligible, some are not. Check your passport against the list on indianvisaonline.gov.in before planning around it.
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
Consultations with Dr. Kachare are in English. Arabic interpreter support for your hospital stay can be arranged — mention it when your estimate is being prepared.
Many UAE residents already know Mumbai, have family here or travel regularly, so the practicalities — food, pharmacies, getting about — are usually familiar.
Afterwards
Follow-Up Once You Are Home
With a three-hour flight, an in-person review is practical if it is ever needed. Routine follow-up runs by video at six weeks, three months and one year, and you leave with the full file for your doctor in the UAE.
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.
The UAE
Travelling from The UAE — Frequently Asked
For a straightforward first knee replacement, staying close to home is a perfectly sound choice and you should weigh it seriously. The case for travelling gets stronger with cost, with both knees at once, and with complexity — revision of a failed replacement, or bone loss needing a patient-specific 3D-printed implant.
Some plans cover treatment abroad, many do not, and the answer depends on your policy rather than on the country. Ask your insurer in writing before you travel, and tell Dr. Kachare at the outset if they need itemised invoices or reports in a particular format.
From the UAE this is realistic. But start by sending your X-rays on WhatsApp and taking the free first video consultation — a great deal can be assessed remotely, and it may save you a trip or tell you that surgery is not yet needed.
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 →