HCM CITY — After being trained by doctors from the Thủ Đức District Hospital, surgeons at another local hospital in HCM City, District 11, on Thursday performed their first hip replacement operation on a 98-year-old patient.

The Thủ Đức hospital is rated as first grade after achieving standards of treatment available at city- and central-level hospitals.

Hip replacement involves a certain degree of expertise available only at a few district-level hospitals in the city, according to health experts.

The patient, belonging to Bình Thuận Province, was brought to the District 11 Hospital on Tuesday with a broken hip bone.

Dr Phạm Thanh Vũ, acting head of the hospital’s general surgery ward, said the man has been admitted in the ICU after surgery, and is expected to be discharged in the next five days.

He would then get physical therapy to help him walk, he said.

“The fracture was complicated. The patient’s good health was one of the factors [that tipped the scale in favour of surgery] because we normally cannot perform surgery on old patients if they have chronic conditions.”

The surgery would help the man have a good quality of life, he said.

Huỳnh Trọng Nghĩa, the patient’s grandchild, said that his family did not want to bring his grandfather to city or central-level hospitals because they had to wait for a long time for surgery due to overcrowding there.

Knowing that the District 11 Hospital could perform the hip replacement operation, his family chose it, Nghĩa said and added that it was right choice and they put trust in right hospital.

According to Vũ, when old people get hip damage, they are highly susceptible to bedsore, which can lead to infections and other fatal complications such as pneumonia.

Before Tết the hospital’s doctors had performed hip replacement surgery on another nonagenarian with assistance from doctors at the Thủ Đức District Hospital.

According to the 108 Military Central Hospital in Hà Nội, hip fractures are common among people above 60, with women at higher risk than men.

They often occur due to tripping and falling or slipping in the bathroom.

Vũ said families with seniors should take precautions. — VNS