Bhagwanrao Jadhav. (Express Photo) Falls can often be life-threatening among the elderly, but for the 91-year-old Bhagwanrao Jadhav, a farmer from Latur, advanced treatment at Pune’s Ruby Hall Clinic has taken care of an unusual hip fracture. His son, Shivaji Jadhav, a businessman in the city, says he was unsure about the surgery especially as his father was surviving on 30 percent heart function.
“But now what a remarkable change,” says Shivaji, as he took his father back home on an ambulatory chair. Preventing a fall is of paramount importance for elders. In this case it was a minor fall but had great impact due to his poor health and also persistent right-sided paralysis, doctors said at Ruby Hall Clinic.
The fall led to a hip fracture with unusual patterns and the son had to avail of an air ambulance service for treatment in Pune. He was suffering from senile osteoporosis and is also paralysed on his right side, said Dr Kiran Kharat, the consultant orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon at Ruby Hall Clinic. Senile osteoporosis is a bone disease that increases risk of bone fracture, he told The Indian Express.
The TFNA (Trochanteric Fixation Nail Advanced) Proximal Nailing System–which is designed to advance hip fracture treatment was used to treat him.
“This unique TFNA technique uses a versatile nail with an option of injection of bone cement through the spiral blade so that when the cement sets there is the good purchase of the spiral blade in the head and neck area of the femur that has become frail in osteoporosis patients. This has been performed at the hospital for the very first time,” said Dr Kharat. He added that the patient has recovered, is now pain-free and is on ambulatory support.
“These fractures have unusual patterns with multiple fragments and are extracapsular, which means out of the hip capsule attachment area. This is the second case in the city where the TFNA technique was used, Dr Kharat said. The success of an implant depends on the quality of the bone as well and these advanced nails have been made to get as much fixation as possible in such weak bones, experts said. Dr Kharat along with Dr Qaedjohar Dhariwal, backed by a medical team of expert anesthesiologist, haematologist and others, stabilised the patient operating on the fragile fracture.