Bilateral Total Hip Replacement in one sitting- A boon to patients

Bhopal : Sunil Kumar (27) and Niyazuddin (29) from Bhopal could barely walk, squat or sit in one position for long. The excruciating pain was a part of his life. But a total hip replacement surgery in a Hamidia hospital here has now changed his life forever.
“When Sunil & Niyazuddin came to us, he had great pain in walking as well as sitting in one posture for long. We performed some tests and we found out that they are a  victim of Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head “said Dr Sanjiv Gaur , Professor, Deptt. of Orthopedics , GMC and Dr  Ashish Gohiya, Associate Professor, GMC, Bhopal .
Dr Sanjiv Gaur and Dr Ashish Gohiya  at Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal performed a unique total hip replacement. For the first time, a combination of ceramic head with ultra-short stem was used with a metallic insert of acetabulum.
Dr Anoop Mehrotra ,  Professor  and Head of Deptt. of Orthopedics,  Gandhi Medical college, Bhopal  said “The Total bilateral hip replacement, is the first surgery of its kind, was successfully performed at Hamidia Hospital , Bhopal here by Dr Ashish Gohiya and his team. Dr Gohiya and his team lent anaesthetic support. The operation was followed by a single rehabilitation period”.
Dr Sanjiv Gaur, Professor, Deptt. of Orthopedics , GMC  “The main advantage of using such a combination is the longevity of the implants. Till now, the implants available had a life of 15 years. Now, with the use of ceramics with metallic acetabulum insert and ultra-short stem, the life of the implant has increased to 25 years. Therefore, there is no need for another surgery, particularly in young patients”.
Dr  Ashish Gohiya, Associate Professor, Deptt. of Orthopedics , GMCpointed the simultaneous bilateral hip replacement surgery was in total contrast to staged hip replacement, where the surgeon might replace hip joints one at a time, in two separate operations, often several months apart from each other.
“In the staged replacement technique, the patient needs two hospital stays, administration of twice and two rehabilitation periods while in this case (of simultaneous replacement), the patient was able to walk in just two days after the operation.”
Dr Gohiya added patients with both hips affected had no healthy leg to rely on, especially patients with fixed deformity of both hips and concomitant impairment of the back (lumbar spine) needed bilateral hip replacement. Fixed deformity of both hip joints imposed a strain on the lower back and these patients often had more symptoms from back spines than from hip joints.
The total blood loss and the total operation time were the same for a staged or simultaneous bilateral hip replacement and the total costs of surgery was approximately 25 per cent lower for the latter procedure.
Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head is an increasingly common cause of musculoskeletal disability, and it poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Although patients are initially asymptomatic, avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head usually progresses to joint destruction, requiring total hip replacement (THR). Dr Gohiya successfully conducted the latest total hip replacement .This surgery is minimally invasive and will enable Sunil to walk without support.