THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government Medical College Hospital in Wayanad has succeeded in conducting the first hip replacement surgery on a sickle-cell anaemia patient, said Health Minister Veena George.
The surgery was performed on a 35-year-old patient who came to hospital with hip pain on October 30 last year.
The doctors found that the patient was suffering from osteomyelitis, a serious condition seen in sickle cell patients. Further examination revealed that it was due to ‘avascular necrosis’ caused by the obstruction of the smooth circulation of blood. As hip replacement was the only option left, the doctors decided to start with the left hip surgery in the first stage.
The hip replacement surgery was performed on January 18, followed by another surgery on the right hip within a month. A statement from the minister said that the patient is recuperating.
The patient who was wheelchair-bound when she first arrived in the hospital, has started making small steps on her own without support, said the statement. Sickle cell anaemia is a public health issue seen in people living in the tribal belts of Wayanad and Palakkad.