Doctors restore mobility of 142 kg woman post total knee-replacement surgery

New Delhi, April 24 Doctors here have restored mobility of a elderly woman weighing 142 kg, after a successful total knee replacement surgery on both knees."This is the first time in India that any patient weighing 142 kg has undergone total knee replacement surgery," said doctors at Primus Super Speciality Hospital, in a statement. Jalwanti, 60, who hails from Jhajjar in Haryana, belonged to the high-risk obese category, with a Body Mass Index of 40

She underwent surgery for one knee at a time, followed by another after almost a year. While the first surgery was performed last year on March 25, the second surgery took place on March 17, 2023. The duration of both surgeries remained approximately 35-40 minutes and enabled the patient to stand on her own feet, the doctors said. Jalwanti was facing extreme difficulty in even doing daily activities due to severe obesity-induced arthritis pain that led to severe deformity in both her knees.

Being overweight not only increased excruciating knee pain but also put the patient at higher risk of other obesity-related issues.

"Due to severe knee joint deformity, Jalwanti has been experiencing unbearable pain for the past so many years and was not able to stand for more than 1 minute. In addition, obesity further intensified the burden on her knees, resulting in rapid degradation of the joint cartilage," Dr. C.S. Yadav, who performed the complex surgery, said in the statement.

"Thereby, we operated on her knees and replaced them with implants and a supporting extension rod to further boost the longevity of the implants. Obesity not only augments conditions of arthritis with women at a higher risk but also induces the chances of diabetes, hypertension and other debilitating diseases," Yadav said.

Despite doctors consistently advising her to lose weight before, she was unable to exercise or perform any physical activity because of joint pain in her knees.

"Whenever I tried exercising, my knees did not support. The condition became worse when my weight went beyond 100 kg. I almost lost hope of being able to walk again without experiencing any pain. However, doctors here addressed my grievances and under their expert guidance, both my knees got replaced. Today, I am able to walk and do daily activities without any discomfort or pain," said Jalwanti, the patient.

There are numerous studies that suggest that obesity is directly proportional to the susceptibility of developing severe knee osteoarthritis.

These studies also report that each incremental increase of 5 BMI units is associated with a 35 per cent higher risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.

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