162-kg Iraqi man gains mobility after hip replacement surgery at Delhi hospital

New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI) A Delhi hospital has performed a complex total hip replacement surgery on a 36-year-old Iraqi man weighing 162 kg, restoring his mobility after years of severe pain caused by advanced arthritis, according to a statement. According to Max Hospital, Patparganj, the patient had been suffering from secondary degenerative arthritis of the right hip and had not responded to conservative treatment in Iraq for several years. The condition had progressively affected his mobility, making it difficult for him to walk or carry out routine activities. The hospital said the patient's severe obesity made the surgery particularly challenging due to increased surgical, anaesthetic and technical complexities. The patient travelled to India for treatment under Dr (Prof) Anil Arora, Chairman and Head of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement at the hospital, it said. The surgical team had to carefully select the implant and fixation strategy to ensure stability and durability while accounting for the greater mechanical load on the artificial joint, it added. "The patient’s excessive body weight made surgical exposure difficult, increased the complexity of implant positioning and placed greater mechanical stress on the artificial joint. Careful planning, appropriate implant selection and precise surgical execution were therefore critical," Arora said. According to the hospital, the surgery was completed without any intraoperative complications, and follow-up X-rays showed satisfactory positioning and stability of the hip implants. The patient underwent supervised physiotherapy and rehabilitation after the operation, experienced early pain relief and improvement in mobility, and was discharged within seven days before returning to Iraq, it said. Arora said obesity increases the risk of complications in joint replacement surgery, but should not automatically prevent patients with advanced arthritis from being considered for the procedure if they are carefully evaluated and managed by a multidisciplinary team. PTI SGV APL