For the elderly with osteoporosis, a fall may lead to fractures and a sharp decline in quality of life. Recently, an 84-year-old patient, Grandma Xu, suffered a fracture of her right femur neck due to a fall, but fortunately, the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of Fangta Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital adopted artificial hip replacement in time to help her reduce postoperative risks and return to life.
When she came to the doctor, Grandma Xu's family recalled that the old man accidentally fell while moving, and her right hip landed on the ground, and she felt severe pain in her hip at that time and could not move. After resting at home for a while, the pain could not be relieved, so he came to the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of Fangta Chinese Medicine Hospital for treatment. After careful questioning, physical examination and imaging examination, the attending physician diagnosed Grandma Xu with a fracture of the right femoral neck with a dislocated end.
The hip joint is the main weight-bearing joint of the human body, and after a fracture, the patient often needs to stay in bed for a long time. However, long-term bed rest will increase the probability of complications such as lung infection, bedsores, and blood clots, and the damage to elderly patients will be more difficult to heal. Li Baolin, director of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, led the team to conduct a thorough case analysis based on Grandma Xu's personal situation, and invited the departments of cardiology, respiratory and anesthesiology to conduct consultations and discussions. Li Baolin believes that Grandma Xu is 84 years old and has underlying diseases such as hypertension, lacunar cerebral infarction, and chronic lung infection. "Although the patient was able to take care of himself before the injury, the patient's situation needs to be considered comprehensively because the demand for functional activities in the community is not high." Li Baolin said.
Before replacement
After replacement
For this, the team came up with artificial hip replacement. Among them, artificial femoral head replacement (half hip) has a shorter time and less bleeding than artificial total hip arthroplasty, and the operation can be performed under local anesthesia with the cooperation of the anesthesiologist team, which can reduce the anesthesia risk and surgical accidents of elderly patients, which has certain advantages. In addition, compared with the internal fixation of hollow nails for femoral neck fractures, patients cannot walk on the ground with weight bearing after surgery, and patients with artificial hip replacement can carry out ground activities in the early postoperative and pain tolerant conditions, which is a better surgical plan for elderly patients, with the advantages of rapid recovery and reduced postoperative complications. After careful discussion, the surgical team finally developed a surgical plan for artificial femoral head replacement (half hip).
The orthopedic team fully communicated with the patient and his family, and the patient and family agreed to undergo surgery. In less than an hour, the surgical team successfully performed the right artificial femoral head replacement (half hip). At present, Grandma Xu has recovered and been discharged from the hospital. Before being discharged from the hospital, she was able to walk with the assistance of a walker, avoiding a series of complications caused by long-term bed rest after a fracture, which was of great help in improving the quality of life after trauma.
Text: Li Tianwei
Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee
Editor: Zhou Yuwei