In a rare case, the Apollo Spectra Mumbai successfully performed a bilateral total knee replacement surgery on a 62-year-old Surat man suffering from osteoarthritis of both the knees with morbid obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Sunil Jariwala, an auto-rickshaw driver suffered from knee pain owing to his age, which was aggravated by his obesity.
With the Covid lockdown announced in India, he had to stay home.
Dr Chirag Patel, Orthopedic Surgeon, Apollo Spectra Mumbai said when the patient consulted him, he weighed 135 kgs (BMI > 50) and his radiographs showed severe osteoarthritis of the knees.
"After counseling, he was scheduled to undergo staged bilateral total knee replacement surgery," he said.
“Operative challenges in performing a knee replacement in severely obese patients include inadequate surgical exposure, suboptimal bone resection, and imperfect ligament balancing. Aggressive rehabilitation protocols were followed for an early discharge from the hospital given the current covid scenario. Eight weeks after the second knee replacement, he is back on his feet and has resumed driving his auto rickshaw," said Dr Patel.
"Earlier, I ignored my knee pain but as matters became worse, I couldn’t drive a rickshaw properly. During the pandemic, I piled up excess kilos, couldn’t move. constantly requiring assistance. I thought I will never be able to walk again or drive an auto rickshaw.” said Jariwala.