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Knee & Hip Replacement in Mumbai
for Patients from the UK
What a patient travelling from the UK actually needs to know: the flight, the visa, what to budget, and who looks after you once you are back in London.
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 London
London Heathrow to Mumbai is a direct flight of roughly ten hours, with several non-stop departures a day between Air India, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and IndiGo.
That is a long flight to take home after lower-limb surgery, and it is managed rather than ignored: blood thinners, compression stockings, an aisle seat, walking the cabin, and a fitness-to-fly review before you leave.
Before You Decide
The NHS Waiting List and Going Abroad
Most people looking at India from the UK are on, or facing, an NHS waiting list for a knee or hip. Waits vary a great deal between trusts; the NHS publishes estimated waits for your own hospital on My Planned Care, and that is the figure to weigh a trip against, rather than any national average.
Be clear about funding. The NHS routes for funding planned treatment abroad cover Europe, not India, so surgery here is self-funded. The NHS’s own treatment abroad checklist is worth reading before you commit: check the surgeon’s qualifications, make sure you can ask questions before treatment, allow enough time to recover before flying home, and check your travel insurance.
That checklist is exactly how this is set up: you speak to Dr. Kachare himself, on a free first video consultation with no obligation, before anything is booked. Tell your GP what you are planning — they will be looking after you once you are home.
Paperwork
Your Visa Route
The United Kingdom is on the official e-Visa list, so British passport holders can apply for the e-Medical Visa online at indianvisaonline.gov.in, with the hospital letter attached.
If you hold an OCI card, you do not need a separate visa. Under the Ministry of Home Affairs rules, OCI registration is a multiple-entry, lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose — medical treatment is not among the activities that need special permission — and OCI cardholders are exempt from FRRO registration for any length of stay. Travel on your current passport with your OCI card; the rules are on the official OCI Services FAQ.
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 are in English, and many UK patients have family in Mumbai or nearby — which makes the fortnight after discharge far easier than recovering in a hotel room.
September to March is the more comfortable season to recover here; the monsoon months from June to September make getting about with a walking frame harder.
Afterwards
Follow-Up Once You Are Home
You fly home with the complete file — operative notes, implant make, model and batch numbers, discharge summary and imaging — and a written physiotherapy protocol a physiotherapist in the UK can follow without contacting anyone here. Video review with Dr. Kachare continues at six weeks, three months and one 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.
The UK
Travelling from The UK — Frequently Asked
No. NHS funding for planned treatment abroad applies to Europe, not India, so surgery here is self-funded. Some private medical insurance policies cover treatment abroad — ask yours in writing before you travel.
It depends on your trust and changes month to month, so no single figure is honest. Check the estimated wait for your own hospital on the NHS My Planned Care website, and weigh that against the three weeks or so a trip to Mumbai takes.
With precautions, yes, after about two to three weeks and a fitness-to-fly review. Long flights raise the risk of clots after lower-limb surgery, so you will be on blood thinners, wear compression stockings, and walk the cabin regularly. An aisle seat, and extra legroom if you can, is worth paying for.
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 →