When Dr. Minoo Patel first met Panu Suga in Papua New Guinea, the teenager’s bowed legs were so severe that walking was painful and limited. Panu was diagnosed with Blount’s disease – a rare growth disorder that, if untreated, severely deforms the legs. In Australia, it’s usually corrected in infancy. In rural PNG, it’s a lifetime barrier.
Transforming Lives Through Surgery
Bringing hope and healing across borders
Center for Limb Lengthening
& Reconstruction
Centre for Limb Lengthening &
Reconstruction
A specialist centre led by Prof. Minoo Patel offering advanced surgical solutionsfor limb deformities and length discrepancies in children and adults.
Shoulder & Elbow Surgery
Prof. Minoo Patel provides expert surgical care for shoulder, elbow, and wrist conditions using the latest minimally invasive techniques.
About Dr Minoo
MBBS, MS, FRACS, PhD
Dr. Minoo Patel is an orthopaedic surgeon based in Melbourne, specialising in complex limb deformity correction and reconstruction. He has worked across Australia and the Pacific, offering surgical interventions for patients who would otherwise remain untreated.
Professional field
This is my expertise in the field of medicine
Hip
Knee
Foot & Ankle
Shoulder
Hand & Wrist
Fractures
Case Stories – Life-Changing Surgery
From the mountainous highlands of Papua New Guinea to the operating theatres of Melbourne, Dr. Minoo Patel has dedicated his surgical expertise to helping patients who once thought walking was beyond reach. Two remarkable journeys — Panu and Sonia — show how compassion, skill, and persistence can overcome borders, bureaucracy, and biology.
Sonia – The Girl Who Refused to Give Up
Published 18 July 2025
1:02 am
By sesuser
“She was determined as hell. She wasn’t going to give up.” Sonia Paua, an 18-year-old from Papua New Guinea, had lived with chronic osteomyelitis since childhood. The bone infection left one of her legs significantly shorter than the other, causing pain and forcing her to hobble kilometres each day to school.
