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NT Bureau
Chennai, Dec 24:
 

Apollo Hospitals consultant orthopedician Dr Madan Mohand Reddy, with a 30-year-old patient for a demonstration on Proxima surgery for hip replacement in Chennai yesterday.

        Here is a permanent solution for those suffering from joint pain at the hip due to wear and tear or other factors like ageing. Apollo Hospitals has successfully undertaken a state-of-the-art surgery Proxima on a 30-year-old suffering from a chronic pain called Ankylosing Spondylitis.

        Normally hip replacement procedure (HRP) was carried out on those patients well-past the middle-age so that artificial implants with a guarantee period of 30 years could extend till the rest of their lives. 'Over the years, HRP has advanced with many new techniques and advent of modern instrumentations. Today's patients willing to go for total hip replacement are looking for quick recovery, optimised functions of the prosthetic implant and extended survival of the artificial hip with minimum complications all of which are possible through Proxima,' explained Dr Madan Mohan Reddy, Consultant Orthopedician, Apollo Hospitals.

        Introduced 7 years ago by a team of UK and Italian surgeons, the concept behind Proxima was to render a minimally invasive surgery with least amount of bone loss through a computer-aided surgery for total hip replacement, Dr Reddy informed.

        Proxima could be done even on young patients who could walk after the surgery and perform all activities without restrictions. Also, post-operation care was minimal and patients could be discharged within few days. Those suffering from arthritis (joint pain) like end-stage Osteo arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis — pain at the fusion of joints, especially at spinal chords —could avail this surgery for hip replacement for a permanent solution to chronic pain at the hip joints.

        Dr Reddy said keeping oneself fit with regular exercise and maintaining a slim physique would go a long way in protecting the hip joints which were under incremental pressure due to ageing and weight gain. 'But one can't detect the symptoms for cases like Rheumatoid arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis as the smooth cartilage on both sides of joints are ruptured and very difficult to realise the loss of that tissue,' he clarified.

        At Apollo Hospitals preference was given to first treating the patients suffering from hip pains with medicines, physiotherapy and exercises and only after such methods proved vain, recourse was taken to hip replacement procedures including the newly introduced Proxima.

        The stem and the cup of the prosthetic device was made up of titanium and stainless steel respectively. With anti-infection property, the instrument was designed for younger generation keeping it mind their requirement of long durability with least side-effects. The cost of the device is Rs 1.5 lakh.

        In a year at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, not less than 400 hip replacements were done after assessing the risk factors of patients like age and the bone density.

        Having successfully operated on a 30-year-old patient from Bangalore through the latest procedure for hip replacement, the hospital would be doing Proxima on three more patients who have been admitted for joint pain. Apollo group claims that it was the first hospital to undertake Proxima method for total hip replacement in the country.