Rare surgery performed to replace elbow in city hospital

Stating that the surgery was to replace the elbow of the man whose diagnosis and treatment were not done correctly so far, Dr Parthasarathy Srinivasan of Mehta’s Hospital, said, “Elbow replacement is not as commonly performed in India as compared to knee and hip replacement surgeries because of lower prevalence of elbow arthritis among the elderly.”

Explaining that the expertise and technology required for elbow replacement surgery were not widely available and required special training to achieve long-term outcomes, he said that the procedure was done for young, mid-age adults suffering from arthritis related to elbow pain and certain fractures in elderly individuals.

The patient had come to the hospital with advanced inflammatory arthritis in his left elbow which had crippled his daily activities over the past two years. 

“He successfully underwent a Conrad - Murray total elbow replacement and has already started to reap the benefits of a pain-free elbow after two years of agonising pain and is on the road to fast recovery,” added the doctor.