CHENNAI: 60 minutes was all that a team of surgeons at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur, had to perform a complex primary revision hip replacement surgery on Kanailal Malakar, a 104-year-old farmer from Midnapore. The case was extremely challenging as the centenarian, a known case of osteoporosis, also suffered from multiple co-morbidities including hypertension, heart and lung ailments. As an extended dose of anaesthesia could have affected the patient adversely, the doctors had to perform the surgery within the short span.
Kanailal had met with an accident while returning from his farms, causing a hip fracture. His family had brought him to the Midnapore outreach OPD of Fortis Anandapur after local doctors and hospitals refused to treat him owing to his advanced age and health complications.
The doctors at the Fortis outreach clinic evaluated Kanailal and advised him hip replacement surgery. His family was initially reluctant but eventually realised that surgery was the only possible option as a plaster could not have helped heal the serious injury. They brought the patient to Fortis Anandapur, where a multi-disciplinary team comprising of cardiac specialists, endocrinologists, lung specialists, intensivists and anaesthetists, thoroughly evaluated the patient and planned the surgery in meticulous detail. The doctors opted for a Long Stem Cemented Bipolar Surgery to fix the fracture.
A team led by Dr Anindansu Basu, Orthopaedic Surgeon, conducted the challenging surgery with support from the anaesthesia team. After the surgery, the patient was monitored by a team of doctors and cared for by a specialised team of nurses. He recovered relatively quickly, in spite of his age.
After being discharged from the hospital, the patient is back at home and has resumed his normal daily life.
Speaking on the case, Dr Ronen Roy, Director, Orthopaedics, Fortis Hospital, Anandapur, said, “This particular case was challenging as the patient was on the extreme side of age and suffered from multiple co-morbidities, a very precise approach was adopted for the surgery. This kind of surgical complication can be handled with the right approach and experienced orthopaedic specialists. Our orthopaedic team has proved that age is just a number and this case is a good example.”
Speaking about the case, Dr Anindansu Basu, Consultant Surgeon, Orthopaedics, Fortis Hospital, Anandapur, said, “Treating patients who belong to the geriatric category is always difficult as multiple complications can arise. Also, hip fracture is quite common in the elderly as with age, the bones grow weaker and brittle and even a minor fall can cause a fracture. It was a complex case which required a cemented long-stem surgery to fix the hip bones. The patient also required good post-operative care as well. This is because bones require time to heal, and in old patients, there are always issues of comorbidities and complexities that might arise if they become bedridden completely.”
Patient Kanailal Malakar said, “I feared that I would be bed-ridden and be a burden on my family. However, because of the help of the doctors and the team, I can continue to live a normal life and even visit my farms with the support of a walking stick.”
