The relatives of this elderly patient brought him with a complaint of severe pain and swelling after an accidental fall. On investigation it was found that the patient’s hip has fractured and a prosthesis implanted during a Hemiarthroplasty – a one side hip replacement, he had undergone elsewhere 20 years ago, had become loose.
The case presented a great challenge for the team considering the patient’s advance age and associated problem of hypertension. To minimize the side effects of anaesthesia and reduce post operative pain, spinal epidural anaesthesia was opted for. His bones were found to be brittle and poor in strength, as is expected in a patient of his age, and were augmented with wires. The surgery itself took about an hour. The patient was fine during the surgery and did not show any complications post operation.
According to Dr. Mithin Aachi, There were not many precedents in the world for us to fall back and prepare to perform this high risk surgery, but the trauma of the patient and the desire of his relatives to see him well made us choose the most optimal option to perform the surgery and are extremely delighted with the outcome.
The usual life span of our hips is lifelong, unless it gets spoiled because of certain diseases, drugs like steroids and alcohol, adds Dr. Aachi.
About Dept. of Orthopaedics at Apollo Hospitals, Secunderabad
Apollo Secunderabad Orthopaedic Department has emerged as one of the premier Centres of Joint Replacement surgery in South India. It has performed since inception nearly 500 successful joint replacement surgeries with success. It is known for Minimally Invasive Surgery and High Flex Joint Replacements and Key Hole Surgery. It is equipped with World Class Operation Theatre, highly qualified Doctors and well trained staff.
