Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Knee replacement surgery for 95-year-old woman

ON HER FEET: Lakshmi Devi with orthopaedic surgeon G. Balasubramanian after she underwent a total knee replacement surgery at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in the city.

COIMBATORE: A 95-year-old woman, Lakshmi Devi, has undergone a knee replacement surgery and this has prompted the hospital where she underwent the procedure to stake claim for a place in the Limca Book of World Records.

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon G. Balasubramanian at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, where the surgery had been done, claims that total knee replacement in a 95- year-old person may be a rare achievement.

Lakshmi Devi, a resident of Coimbatore, was suffering from painful knee for the past few years. The pain became so severe recently that she could hardly take a few steps. She lost sleep and life became increasingly miserable for her at this age.

Finally, she consulted Dr. Balasubramanian and opted for a knee replacement surgery. The surgeon said the surgery was successful and that the patient started walking in two days after the procedure was done. She returned home in a week.

Dr. Balasubramanian says that because of increasing life expectancy and the changes in lifestyle, thousands of people are suffering from arthritis in the knee.

Though knee replacement is very successful in terms of relief from pain and the restoration of mobility, patients are reluctant to undergo surgery at an early stage.

They come for surgery only at a very late stage when the knees are bent and bow-shaped.

They should be encouraged to undergo surgery at an earlier stage so that they do not have to suffer for years. The deterioration into a bow shape can also be prevented.

The doctor says there is reluctance to undergo surgery once such people cross 60 years of age. “This woman is an example that knee replacement can be done even for people who are 100-years-old. The anaesthesia and surgical techniques are much developed now and therefore safe,” he says.

Dr. Balasubramanian says medical tourism by people from abroad who want to be rid of orthopaedic problems continues. “Patients from all over the world are coming to Coimbatore not only for hip resurfacing surgery but also for knee joint replacement surgery.”

While patients had come from the U.S., the U.K., Russia and various other countries for hip resurfacing, 65-year-old lady Fathima Mansoor from Bahrain underwent surgery at the hospital recently for total knee replacement. She had already undergone knee replacement surgery at a hospital in Bahrain but continued to have pain. Hence, she consulted Dr. Balasubramanian and underwent another surgery.

The artificial knee that was placed inside the knee joint two years ago was taken out and a new one put in its place. The patient started walking 48 hours after the surgery, the doctor says.

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