"I was unable to walk on my own and had to be carried to the washroom. After undergoing surgery the dignity of my life has been restored,” said 92-year-old Sriramulu Reddy, a native of Rayachoty who is the oldest person in the state to have undergone knee-replacement surgery. His case points to the shifting paradigm in Indian society where the elderly prefer cure to palliative care.A patient of arthritis, Sriramulu Reddy’s condition started deteriorating over last year and he was wheel-chair bound for the past six months. On consulting doctors at Rayachoty, he was discouraged from undergoing a surgery due to his advanced age. He was operated on by Dr K Sudhir Reddy at the city-based Deccan Hospital on May 21 this year and has shown remarkable improvement since. “We try to dissuade elderly patients from undergoing surgery unless absolutely necessary. However, physiological age is more important than chronological age,”said Dr K Sudhir Reddy at a press conference. He stated that another reason why the elderly avoid invasive surgery is because they feel that it is not worth the expenditure as they are not in the prime of life. However, the increase in life-expectancy and the shift towards nuclear-family units, it is important that the elderly maintain their independence. As arthritis is a common disease, what should be the right age for undergoing joint-replacement surgery? Dr K Sudhir Reddy says that surgery should be performed in extreme cases when the pain starts hampering the daily routine of the individuals. “Often the patients consume pain-killers on a daily basis to overcome the pain leading to renal failure. That’s when the doctors suggest joint-replacement. An earlier detection will certainly help in improving the quality of life for the patients. I recommend the surgery when I see that the patient benefits for at least five years from the procedure,” explained the orthopaedician. The necessity to detect the condition before the bone starts to crumble due to severe arthritis is important as well. Though both his knees are arthritic, after the surgery on his right knee Sriramulu Reddy can take care of his daily chores. The cost of operation varies depending on the nature of implant used and can range from Rs 1 lakh to 2 lakh.
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