A team of surgeons at Apollo Health City performed a double hip replacement using a minimally invasive procedure on a 53-year old man, the first of its kind to be performed in India.

For the first of its kind in India, Orthopedic Surgeons at Apollo Health City, here performed a double hip replacement surgery by using the latest minimally invasive procedure on a 53-year old Somalian patient. While briefing the case to newsmen on 22 March, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon Dr P Sharat Kumar and Apollo Hospitals (Hospital Division) President Dr Hari Prasad said that both the hips of the patient got fused following a severe bout of infection, way back in 1986.

The hip joint comprises of femoral head (ball like) and acetabulum(socket). For easy movement of the hips the femoral head moves in the acetabulum. In this case due to infection in both right and left hip joints the normal cartilage on femoral head and acetabulum was destroyed and caused fusion of femoral head and acetabulum. 

He said the two bones at the hip joint fused and became one, depriving him of the normal hip joint movement. The fusing of hips joints led to his hips losing the natural maneuverability and made his day-to-day life miserable. He had an abnormal gait on account of this, which made movement on his two legs arduous. His normal routine was impaired during the prime of his life and had to endured the trauma for the last 31 years. His ordeal only amplified in recent times, as he also developed pain in both knee joints and lower back, which was due to his abnormal posture and excess stress on these joints.

After exhausting various options of treatment, the patient approached Dr Sharat Kumar on December 29 , 2017. After thorough examination and investigations, Hilowli underwent sequential bilateral total hip replacements, with the right hip being replaced first on December 30, 2017, followed by the left hip replacement on February 15, 2018, they said.