PROBLEM

A 55 years old Bangladeshi lady was admitted with complaints of severe pain in the right hip and limping gait for the past 50 years! She had suffered from septic arthritis (infection of the joint) of the hip joint in childhood which destroyed the entire joint and left her with a permanent disability. Recently the pain had become unbearable restricting all her activities.

Her son, who resides in the UK, had shown her X-rays to several leading orthopedic surgeons in UK, US and Germany. All of them had refused to operate on her and had warned him that attempting any surgery could make matters worse. Some had offered to give it a try without giving him much hope about the outcome, but the cost was exorbitant. He finally heard of Dr. Nandkumar Sundaram and approached him with his mother’s x-rays.

On examination, it was found that the hip joint was completely destroyed and dislocated. Secondary arthritic changes were advanced. The right leg was shorter by 8 cms. She was walking with a severe lurching gait and the spine and pelvic bone were grossly deformed due to decades of abnormal walking.

The joint had been dislocated for 50 years causing the muscles to atrophy and the muscles, blood vessels and nerves to shorten. The pelvic bone and spine were deformed. The socket portion of the joint was absent. The right leg was short by about 8cms. The bones were osteoporotic due to disuse atrophy.

Radiograph

Radiograph

TREATMENT

Total hip replacement.

A new socket was created in its original position on the pelvic bone. The femur (thigh bone) was shortened by about 2.5cms to facilitate reduction of the replaced joint. Soft tissues which were under excessive tension were released. The leg length was fully corrected.

After Surgery

After One Month

RESULTS

She is now completely pain-free and walking without any limp. Her leg length has been corrected fully. She is able to attend to all her needs by herself.