Rare reverse shoulder replacement surgery in city helped her regain normal life

Bangalore, May 27, 2017: Ratna Singh, a 55-year-old homemaker from Patna struggled with acute osteoarthritis coupled with severe malunited fractures on her right shoulder, for several months, with no relief from the physiotherapy sessions and medications, till she underwent a rare surgery at the city’s Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal.

It all started five years ago with an auto accident. Recollecting that eventful day, Ratna said, “I was on my way back home from shopping when my auto got hit by a huge boulder on the road and lost its balance.”

As the auto tripped, it’s entire weight fell on Ratna causing severe injuries on her right shoulder. Ratna was put on a shoulder sling for some time, as local doctors detected fracture on her right shoulder.

However, 3 years back she started facing discomfort again on her right shoulder. Ratna was unable to move her hand, and would often face difficulties in carrying out day-to-day household chores. She tried various treatment methods, physiotherapy and medicines, but to no help.

Around 3 months back, the pain on the right shoulder aggravated, so much so that she would even face difficulty in carrying out day-to-day activities like combing her hair, wearing her clothes, bathing and washing. That is when one of her sons, who is working in Bangalore, suggested her to come to the city for a check-up at Columbia Asia Hospital.

“After examination, we found out that she was suffering from a severe malunited fracture with osteoarthritis of right shoulder which led to damage of her ball and socket joint of the shoulder. This further led to severe pain and she was not able to move her shoulder,” said Dr.RavichandraKelkar – Consultant – Orthopedics, Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal.

“We advised her to undergo a reverse shoulder replacement surgery. In this surgery, her normal shoulder joint was replaced and her ball and socket were reversed with an artificial joint. This surgery is done only in severe cases where the shoulder joint and muscles of the shoulder are damaged,” added the doctor.

“Reverse shoulder replacement is a very rare surgery. Out of 100 shoulder replacement surgeries, 5-8 are reverse shoulder replacement which is only 1% – 5% of all shoulder replacement surgeries,” added Dr. Ravi.

Ratna underwent almost 5 hours long surgery on May 10^th. She was discharged from the hospital after 2 days. She will revisit the hospital on May 18^th for a follow-up check and to remove her stitches. After this, she will need to undergo physiotherapy to bring back the movement in her shoulder.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)