44-Year-Old With Dwarfism Undergoes a Rare Hip Transplant At Apollo Hospital, Delhi

Deep Pradhan from Gangtok suffered with a rare disorder associated with dwarfism called hip dysplasia or misalignment of the hip joint. Doctors at Apollo Hospital performed a rare procedure to implant smallest hip cup on the 44-year-old.His 4’3 height made him susceptible to this disorder. Patients with small stature are prone to bone disorders such as dysplasia or degenerative hip disease and arthritis. This happens because of development disorders and abnormal load distributions through the hip joint.

“Mr Pradhan was in extreme pain and found it difficult to walk. A total hip replacement was the only solution. However, this presented another challenge as the patient’s acetabulum or hip cup was very small,” said Dr Rajeev K. Sharma, orthopedic and joint replacement surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.

Considering that Mr Pradhan was only 44 years old, the doctors wanted to ensure that the implant used for him was good enough to last a few decades to ensure he did not need a revision surgery due to wear and tear of the prosthesis. The doctors used delta motion ceramic-on-ceramic total hip replacement implant, which is specifically used for young patients as it has a low wear rate and high longevity.

“Hip replacements are most commonly done in elderly patients who suffer fracture or displacement of bone. In older patients, implants lasting even 15 years often suffice for a lifetime. However, performing a joint replacement, hip or knee, in patients like Mr Pradhan is a challenge in itself because a young patient can easily outlive the normal life of an artificial prosthesis. That is why we had to carefully choose the implant for the procedure,” added Dr Sharma.

Source-Medindia