![Dr Vikas Padha, Senior Consultant Orthopaedics, SMVDNSH, posing with a patient to whom he operated successfully. Dr Vikas Padha, Senior Consultant Orthopaedics, SMVDNSH, posing with a patient to whom he operated successfully.](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/k-11-1.jpg)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 17: Doctors at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana (SMVDN) Superspeciality Hospital has saved an 88-year-old woman from succumbing to permanent morbidity by performing a minimally invasive complex orthopaedic surgery.
Elaborating about the case, Dr Vikas Padha, Senior Consultant Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement, SMVDNSH, who operated upon the case said that the life was normal for Kanta Devi, until she happened to have a fall six months ago. The fall had fractured her right hip. Owing to her age and her co-morbidities, the hospital that the family had taken her for the fracture treatment advised on a non-operative treatment.
However, owing to the lockdown she was not in a position to continue with her follow up. The patient and family continued to take the treatment remotely but her condition started deteriorating. Not only her pain didn’t subside, her leg got shortened and it was becoming difficult to even get up from the bed.
As her condition was not improving, the family did an X-ray and it was revealed that the fracture had not united at all. The search for an advanced treatment brought them to SMVD Narayana Superspeciality Hospital. The orthopaedic department took up the case and did a thorough evaluation of the patient. As the fracture was more than 6 month old, it was diagnosed that surgery was the only option to save the patient from lifelong pain and morbidity.
As the open surgery was a high risk one, the doctors opted for a minimally invasive modality. The implant was inserted using just a 5 cm incision with hardly any blood loss. The surgery was performed within 30 minutes. As the patient was responding well, she was shifted to the ward directly and not to the ICU. What more, by the next day the patient was in a position to walk with the help of a walker.