Panaji, Jul 25 (IANS): India was exposed to knee replacements largely after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee underwent the knee replacement procedures, a leading specialist said here.

Not just poet Vajpayee's rhyme and meter and his trademark pregnant pauses inspired Indians. His knee replacement surgeries also did, the specialist said.

By undergoing a much publicised knee replacement surgeries, Vajpayee became India's poster boy for the advanced surgical intervention and it inspired a lot of Indians to undergo the surgery, Dr. Ameya Velingker said Wednesday.

Speaking to IANS Wednesday on the sidelines of a knowledge exchange programme featuring knee replacement specialists from the US and Goa, Velingker said the surgeries on Vajpayee created a lot of interest and awareness about the procedure in India, where over 70,000 persons undergo knee replacements annually now.

In 2001, Vajpayee underwent a replacement procedure on his left knee at the Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. US-based orthopaedic surgeon C.S. Ranawat carried out the much written and talked about operation. Ranawat was subsequently awarded a Padma Bhushan in 2001.