Hip, hip hooray: 85-year-old fights fractured hip, cancer to stand on his feet

Octogenarian has been battling cancer of the blood and bone marrow and recently underwent a third hip surgery after an accident; his treating doctor says that it is the sheer willpower of this senior citizen that has helped him bounce back

Diagnosed with cancer of the blood and bone marrow and undergoing the third surgery for his severely fractured hip replacement joint prosthesis, it is the sheer willpower of this 85-year-old Juhu resident that has helped him get back on his feet within a week of meeting with an accident at home.

Sheer determination: Davinder Chopra recuperating at Nanavati Hospital

Davinder Chopra, recuperating from a third hip surgery — to replace the earlier prosthesis that was fractured in a fall at home — at Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital, cheerfully said that his belief in the doctor, support of the family and will to walk again is what encourages him to literally walk past major obstacles effortlessly. Chopra underwent a major hip joint replacement surgery on Tuesday. His treating surgeon, director of Arthritis and Joint Replacement Surgery, Prof Dr Pradeep Bhosale called the case ‘extremely rare’ in his career spanning 10,000 surgeries, due to Chopra’s age and medical conditions that could have posed a threat during the surgery. Chopra had been recently diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia, cancer of the white blood cells for which he was undergoing chemotherapy.

X-ray highlighting the damage. Pics/Satej Shinde

Speaking with mid-day, Chopra, who sounded delighted and energetic, said he had fractured the hip prosthesis when he fell at home last week. At the age of 85, he thought that it would be the end of his days of mobility. “We had a pooja at home on the occasion of Diwali and I started feeling claustrophobic because of which I started walking out of the hall. But as soon as I reached my room, I suddenly lost control and fell on my right side, exactly where I had had surgery a decade ago for a hip joint replacement. I was in immense pain and my son rushed to my aid,” said Chopra.

Medical complications
While he immediately called Dr Bhosale, who was in Srinagar then, his family was looking for a second opinion. They met several well-known doctors but none showed any interest in the treatment due to Chopra’s age and secondary medical complications. Eventually, they rushed him to Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital after talking to Bhosale. “I knew I was disturbing him on his holiday, but in my heart I knew that I had to call Bhosale as soon as possible because he had operated upon me a decade ago. I wanted him to be the one to conduct the surgery,” added Chopra.

Chopra’s family members said that it was the third surgery for the senior citizen’s hip joint prosthesis, which was fitted around 12 years ago. Apparently, two years after the first surgery, his prosthesis became loose and started giving him trouble. “He was in pain and it also affected his mobility. That’s when we had contacted Bhosale in KEM Hospital, who had conducted the revision surgery. Till the accident last week, he was mobile, could walk around the house and did his own chores but the accident left him bedridden,” said Namrita Desai, Chopra’s daughter.

Sheer willpower
Doctors said modern techniques were used to ensure that Chopra achieves immediate mobility, as immobility could also be an obstacle in the way of recovery. They said after the 2.5-hour surgery that was conducted on November 17, Chopra could sit and walk with the help of a walker immediately on the next day.

“In 37 years, this is one of the extremely rare cases that I have witnessed. It’s the team effort of modern orthopaedic techniques, skill of doctors, support of relatives and most importantly, the epic will power of Chopra that has helped him back on his feet despite the challenges,” added Bhosale.

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