Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 |
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Tiruchi
GOING STEADY: Dr. Anand Rengasamy helping Kanagasabapathy, who recently underwent a surgery successfully, to use a walker. Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam.
Prathibha Parameswaran
TIRUCHI: Ninety-eight-year-old Kanagasabapathy, a former Senior Accounts Officer at Golden Rock, got a new lease of life when he recovered and returned to normalcy after undergoing a surgery to set right a fracture on his left femur. On April 18, when he first landed at Sea Horse Hospital in the city after a fall in his home, hardly did anyone think that he would be able to withstand a surgery. But, contrary to even the doctors' expectations, Mr. Kanagasabapathy has come through the operation successfully. As consultant orthopaedic surgeon of the hospital Anand Rengasamy remarked, "when he first came it struck me as a hard task to convince him to undergo the surgery. Normally elderly people prefer to go in for other methods of treatment, anything that would help them forego a surgery." But, Mr. Kanagasabapathy was not only convinced about the operation but was even heard jovially mentioning his 100th birthday party and invited the entire medical staff to it. As soon as he was admitted, he was given a comprehensive medical check up by a team of doctors specialising in different branches of medicine such as nephrology, neurology and cardiology. It took them at least a couple of days to confirm that he could undergo the surgery without risk. According to Dr. Anand, despite his age, the old man was free from all other health problems, which made it easier for them to operate on him. Mr. Kanagasabapathy was diagnosed with a fracture in his left femur. During the two-hour surgery called hemi-replacement arthroplasty, done on April 20, Dr. Anand removed the fractured joint and replaced it with an artificial one. It took just five days before the nonagenarian was on his feet again, supported by doctors, attenders and a walking frame. "Age is a big factor in such surgeries. Besides, a fall is traumatic. The patient would be confined to bed and runs the risk of developing complications in his or her respiratory organs and kidneys besides ulcers on the back," Dr. Anand points out. The orthopaedic surgery required the doctors' attention and concentration, as it was difficult to operate on old people. While the bones of young people keep regenerating, after the age of 45 the bones start getting weak. The spinal cord and hip are prone to fractures, Dr. Anand added. "He is always active and cheerful," his wife Janaki Ammal says. As for Dr. Anand, the surgery was the greatest challenge of his life. While orthopaedic geriatrics is a separate branch in western countries, it has not been very popular in India.
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