Dalai Lama recovering well after knee replacement surgery in US, says his personal physician

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, July 4
The Dalai Lama, who had undergone a knee replacement surgery in the US, is recovering well. To allay the concerns of thousands of followers of the Dalai Lama across the world, his personal physician, Dr Tsetan, issued a statement on Thursday.

In the statement Tsetan’s said, “Today is the fifth day since His Holiness had the knee surgery. Both his surgical doctor and physical therapist said after assessing His Holiness that he has made tremendous improvement. His recovery rate is much higher than other patients’ undergoing similar treatment. A lot of people were concerned that this treatment and the recovery process would be very painful. However, the pain is very low and His Holiness can now walk. Day by day, he is getting better. Now our plan is to move His Holiness out of New York to a more spacious, open area with clean air and natural landscape. A lot of people both inside and out of Tibet are worried. I want to ask everyone not to worry.”

He said that as per the investigative methods of the traditional Tibetan medical system that involves investigating pulse movements and urine analysis, the Dalai Lama’s condition is getting much better. His pulse movements — the pulse rate and mode of pulsation — are well balanced and indicate reaching a state that is disease-free or a homeostatic state. There is no need for people to worry about the Dalai Lama’s condition, he added.

The Dalai Lama, who is 88 years old, was facing difficulty in walking independently due to knee problem. He used to take assistance from his close associates to walk. He left Dharamsala on June 20 for the knee replacement surgery. He underwent surgery on June 28. Tibetans in exile had been organising prayers for early recovery of the Dalai Lama.