THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Parassala Taluk Hospital has earned yet another feather in its cap by performing a complete hip replacement surgery. The Parassala Taluk hospital was earlier in the news for becoming the first hospital in the government sector to phase out all its mercury-based equipment with digital ones.
Abhita who underwent the treatment says she was not able to walk owing to issues with her hip. Replacement was the only way for her. Orthopedic surgeon Dr Anil, who performed the surgery said that the patient was stable after the surgery and she had started to walk. ‘’The surgery was held last week and now she has started to walk steadily. In a few days, she will recover completely,’’ he said.
Stating that the Karunagapally native was under his treatment for the last five years, Dr Anil said that he has already performed several such surgeries while working at the Karunagapally Taluk Hospital. The patient was referred to the Parassala Taluk hospital for the replacement surgery.
In Abhita’s case, according to the doctor, both the femoral head and acetabulum degenerated. Once she was admitted for the surgery, hospital authorities extended all support, including all facilities at the operation theatre and post operative care. The surgery took nearly an hour and was assisted by Dr Rejitha (anaesthesia), Arun S (anaesthesia technician), Viji (staff nurse) and other theatre staff. Though the surgery was to be performed a bit earlier, the patient had some difficulty in arranging the money for buying the implant and affording other costs. The implant cost about Rs 80,000 and was borne by the patient as she did not come under any of the health schemes.
Talking to City Express, hospital superintendent Dr Unnikrishnan said that it was a historic moment for the hospital. The hip replacement surgery shows that the Taluk hospitals once equipped with all facilities can perform any task that other hospitals do. It is just the will of the hospital authorities and the doctors that make the difference, he said. This is yet another proof that government hospitals are not behind any other hospital in the state, he added.
‘’When Anil made the suggestion to perform the hip replacement surgery, we assured him of providing all facilities for the treatment at the Operation Theatre,’’ he said.Unnikrishnan said that the hospital was also gearing up to perform a knee replacement surgery in the coming days.