Ms. Ankita Sharma* suffered a life-threatening accident in July 2013. She had a fracture of the acetabulum and pelvis. This was an open fracture which means that there was a large wound at the fracture site. This fracture is notorious as nearly 50 percent of the patients with such injury can die. She was admitted under another orthopedic surgeon for this injury. She also had a fracture of the femur (thigh bone). She was treated and unfortunately developed an infection. This was all sorted out nearly three years ago.
She subsequently saw Dr. Mahesh Kulkarni. We made sure that she didn’t have any residual infection and planned for surgery. She had been to various hospitals for treatment options. She has explained the risks of surgery including further infection.
She underwent hip replacement surgery using the most modern hip socket made from trabecular metal. These sockets are made for such difficult cases where the bone stock is compromised by previous injury or surgery. She had an episode of wound infection after the surgery and this was treated adequately. Ms. Ankita Sharma* said: “I feel wonderful now. I am able to do all the activities that I want to do…. I can swim, I can dance, I can sit for any length of time I like. I can walk as far as I like without any pain…..In general, I feel terrific.”

Suffered from pain for last 20 years, Anil gets a new ray of hope to lead a normal life Mr. Anil Gupte* (41 years old now) was in class 12 when he experienced severe back ache. He consulted several doctors in different cities. To get rid of the severe pain, Anil was on prescribed medication for the last 19 years. However, over-consumption of medicines raised gastro intestine problems for him. The condition worsened, in 2015, when he was bedridden for 6 months. This made him dependent on his family members. Anil wasn’t able to sit or sleep for long hours, couldn’t ride his bicycle, neither was able to walk or take stairs. It was difficult for him to even stretch his hands to wear his trousers and needed help in doing so. His family helped him with all his daily needs which included food and personal hygiene. Dependency on his wife and 11 years old daughter on basic things like eating food and taking a bath made him upset. His illness forced him to drop his education midway.

In order to support his family, he started taking tuitions at home, but he had to stop with his tuitions too as the pain worsened. Anil consulted multiple doctors both in Pune and Mumbai. In 2015, someone suggested him to consult Dr. Mahesh Kulkarni, an Orthopaedic surgeon at… hospital in Pune. Dr. Kulkarni examined Anil and immediately suggested HLA B27 which diagnosed Ankyloses Spondylitis (abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to the fusion of the bones). Anil was then recommended to undergo Bilateral Hip replacement surgery immediately. Dr. Kulkarni specializes in complex joint replacement surgeries for hips and knees. He undertook the challenge of relieving Anil from the severe pain that he faced for years and infuse mobility into his hip joints.

During the time of operation, Gupte was underweight; his height was 5.6 inches and he weighed only 42 kgs. Hence Dr. Kulkarni suggested conducting right hip surgery first and left hip surgery after a gap. The surgery for his right hip was conducted in November 2015 and another hip in May 2016. “…. Stems…were used to correct his deformities. The case being extraordinary required high quality stemmed prosthesis that can have longer life span than any other ordinary prosthesis. Hence, we chose …… to replace his both hips.” said Dr. Kulkarni. Having a strong determination of walking, it took him just a week to get up from the bed and walk. His life has changed for good, ever since he has been operated. “I am so grateful to Dr. Kulkarni, as I have suffered from hip pain for past two decades. This surgery has made me forget the pain. I can now sleep peacefully and comfortably.

I will be spending most of my time with my wife and daughter as I wasn’t able to support them physically earlier. I am already planning an international trip this year with family.” said a beaming Anil who is all set to take up new challenges and opportunities thrown to him by life.