Family of Thane-based centenarian Vitabai Patil, who underwent successful hip replacement surgery last week, says she is oldest patient to have had risky procedure; family members will be applying for Guinness World Record
Vitabai Patil
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A Centenarian from Thane with nerves of steel has undergone a hip replacement surgery at the age of 104, possibly making her the oldest patient in the world to have braved the risky procedure. The previously documented Guinness World Record holder, John Randall from the UK, underwent a similar surgery at the age of 102 in 2011.
The family is planning to apply for the record with the Guinness World Book of Records to recognise Vitabai's achievement.
'Strong-willed woman'
This is Vitabai's second hip replacement surgery in 10 years, her orthopaedic surgeon Dr Milind H Patil, told mid-day. What makes Vitabai's case extraordinary is that though she had suffered a fracture on the left side of her hip, she could walk on her own.
"At 104, one would assume that the patient would be bed-ridden and dependent. But, Vitabai is extremely strong. She could walk around the house without support, and also climb the stairs. We decided to operate on her because seeing her strong willpower," said Dr Patil.
Dr Milind H Patil
Vitabai first suffered a fracture of the hip joint, when she was 93. "At the time, she underwent a surgery and recovered quickly," recalled Dr Patil, who works at the Revival Bone and Joint Hospital in Thane.
Recently, she suffered a fracture on the left side of the hip joint. While Vitabai was keen on having the surgery, Dr Patil said that performing it on a centenarian could be risky. "At this age, patients have a compromised heart condition," said Dr Patil. But, she convinced the doctors to go ahead. Vitabai was admitted to hospital on February 12. "We called a cardiologist to monitor her condition 24/7. The anaesthetist had to be extra cautious while calculating the dose," he added, "but, not only was the surgery successful, Vitabai was discharged within two days."
Vitabai Patil, who was operated on February 12, with family
Speaking to mid-day, Vitabai's son Sharad Patil, said, "Despite her age, she doesn't like being dependent. She is extremely active, and wouldn't have accepted not walking around, so we went ahead with the surgery."
Rare case
Describing Vitabai's as a rare case, orthopaedic surgeons in the city say that while hip fracture among senior citizens is common, a surgery to fix it performed on a 104-year-old patient is unheard of.
Speaking to mid-day, Dr Sachin Bhat, orthopaedic surgeon from SRV Hospital said, "In my experience of 14 years, I have performed hip replacement on several nonagenarian patients. Two years ago, I operated on a 102-year-old woman, but none as old as Vitabai."
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