104-year-old woman undergoes hip replacement surgery

In a rare surgery, a 104-year-old woman suffering a hip fracture, which led to traumatic arthritis, successfully underwent hip replacement surgery at a city hospital, authorities here said on Sunday.

Mateshwari Devi, reportedly the oldest to undergo such a complicated surgery, had suffered a fall which led to the fracture and traumatic arthritis of hip joints subsequently.

The complication was such that the pain spread to her entire backside, making her unable to even move out of bed.

Following tests, it was found that ball joint in the hip of the patient had fractured and was touching the socket causing arthritis.

Mateshwari Devi was brought to the city-based Jaypee hospital, where doctors suggested hip replacement as the only cure.

According to medical science, joint replacement in senior citizens is highly risky as it can lead to organ failure.

After getting the consent of Mateshwari Devi's son, doctors constituted a team and performed the replacement surgery. Within five days, the patient started making movements without anyone's help.

"It was a bit challenging for us to take the decision for the surgery due to the age of the patient and especially to convince her relatives," said Sanjay Gupta, joint replacement surgeon at Jaypee hospital.

"Prior to the surgery, we conducted whole body examination and review by cardiologist, chest physician and nephrologists to ensure safety," Gupta told reporters while briefing them about the surgery which was performed during the last week of June at a total cost of Rs.2.22 lakh.

Gupta said the team had to take extra precautions while performing surgery as Mateshwari Devi had a medical history of bronchial asthma, which could lead to organ failure during surgery.

Anshumali Chaudhary, an anaesthetist at Jaypee hospital and member of the surgery team, said: "Administering anaesthesia to Mateshwari Devi involved a lot of risk as she suffered from high level of thyroid hormones, kidney problems and shortening of the backbone. But these things were controlled somehow."

Mateshwari Devi's 65-year-old son Narendra Singh, said: "My mother is now completely fit. I wanted to see my mother back in a good condition because of which I took the risk."

"It was very difficult to convince myself and my entire family for her surgery, and today we have no regret. Rather, today we are happy that we took the right decision," he added.