Centenarian undergoes record hip replacement

New Delhi: A 105-year-old man has got a new lease of life after undergoing a hip replacement surgery at a Delhi hospital, with the doctor who operated on him, claiming that he was the "oldest person globally" to have undergone this clinical procedure.

Orthopaedic surgeon Kaushal Kant Mishra, who performed the surgery recently, said he has “already applied” for a Guinness World Record.

“The patient was brought to our hospital on January 19 after having suffered a fall in bathroom at his home, which left him incapacitated. The surgery was performed that day and on January 22 he was discharged in a walking condition,” Mishra said.

The doctor, who heads the orthopaedic department at Primus Hospital in central Delhi, said the patient, Gurbachan Singh Sandhu, used to walk with a stick and his physical fitness aided in the surgery. “He was born in undivided Punjab on the Indian side and retired in 1971 from security office of the armed forces.

On March 28, he will turn 106. I have checked for documented surgeries world over for hip replacement, and I found no one as old than Sandhu to have undergone this operation,” he said.

As per the existing global record, the oldest person to have had a total hip replacement was a British, John Randall, born in 1909, who had a “revision left total hip replacement at the age of 102 years”, Mishra claimed.

“There are two kinds of hip replacement surgeries, cemented and uncemented. In cemented ones, there are chances of side-effects which could also be life-threatening. Sandhu underwent uncemented hip replacement procedure successfully,” he said.

The doctor said, his patient’s good bone quality even at that age, was another factor for choosing uncemented surgical procedure, adding, Sandhu did not smoke or drink, and regularly went for walks.

“Most people of his age become weak and vulnerable, but he is full of life and energy. He wanted to walk and not lay on bed with a broken hip and so readily agreed for the surgery,” Mishra said.