Bone-preserving hip replacement surgery on woman

Chennai, Dec 1 (UNI) Bone-preserving total hip replacement surgery was performed on a 33-year-old woman successfully here at the Bharathi Rajaa Specialty Hospital, which claims to be the first to be performed by an Indian surgeon in South India.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon A K Venkatachalam, who performed the surgery, told reporters here yesterday the patient was suffering from a condition called Ostenonecrosis, also called vascular necrosis, of both hips.

A very small prosthesis called Proxima hip replacement was implanted in the patient's hips.

The technology has been introduced only recently in the country.

He claimed, he was the first Indian surgeon to perform this operation in South India, as other surgeries had been performed by visiting foreign surgeons.

He said the size of the implant was smaller and provided maximum direct contact with the bone, besides increasing longevity and eliminating thigh pain. It preserved more bone than traditional hip implant surgeries.

Dr Venkatachalam, an expert in joint replacements, knee and shoulder surgeries, had earlier performed this operation on several foreign patients from the UK and West Asia.

He described the surgery as novel as the bone in the neck of the femur (upper end of the thigh bone) was preserved. This type of hip replacement was a solution to patients not suitable for surface hip replacement and in whom total hip replacement was an option.

This replacement surgery preserved bone stock, as the prosthesis was not implanted deep within the thighb one.

Dr Venkatachalam said the longevity was, thanks to the bearing surfaces being made of metal. It was also very stable as the diameter of the prosthesis was large and replicated normal size of bone.

He said at present, minimally invasive surgery was the main trend in orthopaedics. A total hip arthroplasty should be considered minimally invasive not just because it could be done through a small incision but also because it preserved bone. There was no major loss of soft-tissue, he added.

It could also be used in selective cases of hip arthritis, such as for those with good bone stock for whom resurfacing would not be suitable and total hip replacement would be too radical.

The patient Ms Lalitha said she was suffering from severe knee pain for over five years and she had being treated by several leading orthopaedic surgeons. Still she was unable to recover.

She had been referred to Dr Venkatachalam by a relative. She said she had recovered more than 90 per cent and was able to move with the help of a walker.

Hospital Managing Director C Natesan said an Italian orthopaedic surgeon Francesco Saverio Santori, in association with a British surgeon, had designed this prosthesis after follow up of ten years.

He said the surgery had several advantages including less blood loss, minimum hospitalisation period and fast recovery.

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