L - R: Karan Puri, Head - Sales & Marketing; Dr. Anurag Aggarwal, Sr. Consultant, Department of Orthopedics; Dr. K D Soni, Head of the Department of Orthopedics. The picture is of the patient from Iraq, Mahmood Obaid Slghan.
Faridabad, June 29, 2015: Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, conducted a surgery on a 74 year old patient from Iraq suffering from severe osteoarthritis and deformed knees to help him regain the mobility of his limbs to walk again. Dr K D Soni, Head- Department of Orthopaedics, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad and Dr Anurag Aggarwal took up this challenge to bring him back from a condition where he could not even crawl and his family members had given up hope of seeing him on his feet again.
The patient, Moohid Obaid Slghan, who hails from Babel, Iraq, was afflicted by severe osteoarthritis and additionally had deformed knees. Consequently, he was having severe pain in both his knees and was able to even stand only with the support of three or more people around him. For most of the time he was mobile on a wheel chair and had been confined to it since the last year and a half.
Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthrosis, is a type of joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone. The most common symptoms are joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include joint swelling and decreased range of motion. Depending on the severity of the disease, it can affect work and normal daily activities. Unlike other types of arthritis knee joints are typically affected.
Dr. K D Soni, Head – Department of Orthopedics, said, “The most prevalent form of arthritis in knees is osteoarthritis. The severest cases received earlier also required multiple surgeries for deformity correction followed by Knee Replacement and the patient was made to walk after that”.
Dr. Anurag Aggarwal, Sr. Consultant Department of Orthopedics said “With the surgery we have performed the patient is now walking with the support of a walker after just 24 hours of surgery. He will be able to walk with stick support over the next 4 to 6 weeks.”
Mr Rajeev Bhandari, Facility Director, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, said, “With the surgery performed by Dr. Soni and Dr. Aggarwal the doctors have challenged the most diverse circumstances to bring back a patient at this age back on to his feet. It shows the great effort put together at our team of doctors.”
The patient and his family members expressed their gratitude, “We are very thankful to the doctors who have brought him back on his feet. There were too many challenges in the day-to-day activities and being on the wheel chair also led to frustration and depression. We do not have enough words to thank Dr. Soni and his team. They have actually given me a second lease and I am grateful to them.”
Osteoarthritis is more common in women than men but the prevalence increases dramatically with age. 45% of women over the age of 65 have symptoms while radiological evidence is found in 70% of those over 65. Osteoarthritis of the knee is a major cause of mobility impairment, particularly among females. OA was estimated to be the 10th leading cause of non-fatal burden in the world in 1990 but by 2000 it rose to the 4th leading cause at global level.