Major surgery makes woman weighing mere 23 kg walk again

After two years of being bedridden and fully dependent on a wheelchair, a 65-year-old woman weighing only 23 kg has successfully undergone bilateral hip replacement surgery, giving her a new lease of life enabling her to walk, according to a private hospital here on Thursday.

For the past two years, Shubhangi Devi had severe pain in both hips due to advanced age-related arthritis, rendering her indisposed and unable to walk.

“She is the lightest person of this age in the country to undergo such complex surgery. Bedridden for two years due to severe arthritis, this life-changing operation has enabled her to walk again,” hospital said in a statement.

One of the challenges the medical team had was the high risk of bone fractures during the procedure as her bones were brittle and soft with low calcium content.

The doctors opted to proceed with Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) — a surgical method that uses smaller incisions and advanced techniques that minimise tissue damage, resulting in less postoperative pain, faster recovery, and a quicker return to daily activities.

“The patient underwent two surgeries — first on the right hip and later on the left — each carefully planned and completed within approximately one hour. Despite the heightened risk of anesthesia-related complications due to her advanced age, the medical team managed these risks effectively,” hospital said.

The surgery, led by Dr Ashwani Maichand, Director of Orthopaedics, CK Birla Hospital, is claimed to be India’s first low-weight bilateral hip replacement surgery.