For nearly 10 years, Deep Pradhan suffered from the effects of a rare disorder called hip dysplasia or misalignment of the hip joint associated with dwarfism.
However, when the pain became impossible to bear two months back, the electrical engineer from Gangtok decided to travel to Delhi for treatment.
Mr. Pradhan, who is 4’3” in height, suffers from dwarfism. Besides this, early onset of arthritis and dysplasia of the hip joint made it increasingly difficult for him to walk and perform other day-to-day tasks.
Orthopaedic and Joint Replacement surgeon Rajeev K. Sharma, a senior consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, examined the patient and analysed the challenges of operating him.
“Patients who have dwarfism and resultantly small statures are prone to bone disorders like dysplasia or degenerative hip diseases. They are also susceptible to arthritis, which develops due to wear and tear of the hip joint. This happens because of development disorders and abnormal load distributions through the hip joint. The patient was in extreme pain and found it difficult to walk or sit. A total hip replacement was the only solution in this case. However, this presented another challenge as the patient’s acetabulum or hip cup is very small,” said Dr. Sharma.
Given that the patient is only 44 years old, the doctors also needed to ensure that the implant used in the procedure was good enough to last a few decades so that Mr. Pradhan did not require a revision surgery due to wear and tear of the prosthesis.
“Hip replacements are most commonly done in elderly patients who suffer a fracture or displacement of the bone. In older patients, implants lasting even 15 years often suffice. However, performing a joint replacement — hip or knee — in a much younger patient is a challenge in itself because they can easily outlive the normal life of an artificial prosthesis. This is why we had to carefully choose the implant we used in the procedure,” added Dr. Sharma.
The doctor used delta motion ceramic-on-ceramic total hip replacement implant by DePuy.
This implant is specifically used in young patient as it has low wear and tear rate, and high longevity.
The surgeon used the smallest available hip prosthesis — 42 mm.
A special ceramic monoblock implant was used, that has long durability and can last almost 40 years.
Within a few days of the surgery, Mr. Pradhan was up and about, able to walk without support or pain.
