Overcoming Complexity: The Journey of Mr. Than Towards Full Recovery

Mr. Than, a 32-year-old man, has been dealing with ankylosing spondylitis of the hip joint for over a decade. The condition has caused deformed bones, low legs, and high legs, with his right hip joint completely stiff and unable to lift his legs, leading to curvature of the spine. A doctor diagnosed him with this condition more than a decade ago and recommended surgery, but for various reasons, he has not undergone treatment yet.

On April 12th, Dr. Dang Khoa Khoa, the Head of the General Orthopedics Department at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, highlighted the complexity of Mr. Than’s condition. The prolonged adhesions, stiffness and severe degeneration in his hip joint without proper treatment have led to various complications including spine curvature, pelvis tilting, muscle contraction and leg length discrepancy. Immediate artificial hip replacement surgery is recommended to restore movement.

The patient’s condition presents challenges for the surgical team due to the complete failure of the hip joint components making it stiff and immobile. The risk of post-surgery dislocation is high due to leg length difference, muscle tone imbalance and severe scoliosis. To minimize muscle damage and ensure muscle balance while reducing dislocation risk post-surgery; Mr. Than will undergo hip replacement using the SuperPATH minimally invasive surgical technique.

After surgery, Mr. Than experienced relief from pain and could walk comfortably without assistance but due to leg length difference caused by damaged hip joints pelvis tilt and spine curvature equalizing leg length post-surgery will require long term rehabilitation exercises such as balancing muscle strength correction gait abnormalities are necessary for full recovery within 3-6 months he can restore 80-90% balanced gait while continuing training is necessary to achieve full recovery of natural gait