75-year-old bedridden woman walks again after knee replacement surgery

New Delhi: A 75-year-old woman from Muzaffarnagar, who was left bedridden after she was hit by rheumatoid arthritis, doctors at a hospital in Noida have given her a new lease of life.

Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects joint linings causing painful swelling, had started affecting the knee joints of Bilquis 20 years ago.

The knees became crooked over a period of time and progressed to a stage, where they completely bent to 90 degrees, forcing Bilquis to be bedridden since the last five years.

"If the patient does not take treatment on time, the disease becomes so severe that the joints can turn completely dysfunctional," Sanjay Gupta, Associate Director (Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Department) at Jaypee Hospital, said in a statement on Monday.

Due to the illness, Bilquis' hip joints were also affected. She had to sleep like a crooked log.

At the hospital, Bilquis' underwent complex joint reconstruction and corrective soft tissue surgery.

Knee replacement, also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability.

Four surgeries were performed in two stages which took about two hours for each stage, the statement said.

"The patient has completely recovered and is able to walk now," Gupta said.

(With IANS inputs)