Many young patients have femoral head necrosis.

The patient underwent surgery for femoral head necrosis. Photo: NGUYEN LY

Patient NVT (28 years old, Binh Thuan province) was admitted to the Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics, Military Hospital 175 with pain in the femur and inability to walk normally. Through clinical examination, the doctor discovered that the patient had femoral head necrosis on both sides, in a severe stage.

According to the patient, he does manual labor and has a habit of drinking alcohol, on average drinking nearly 1 liter of alcohol a day. This habit has lasted for 7 years and is the main cause of his femoral head necrosis becoming more serious.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Phan Dinh Mung - Director of the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Deputy Director of Military Hospital 175 said that recently, the hospital has performed free hip replacements for 50 patients, with the cost coordinated by a team of doctors from Chicago, USA. Currently, at the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Military Hospital 175, the rate of young patients with femoral head necrosis is about 12%, a very high rate compared to the world average. Worryingly, the number of young patients with femoral head necrosis on both sides is also increasing.

Young patients of working age, when suffering from femoral head necrosis, will have their ability to work seriously affected. Total hip replacement (femoral head and acetabulum replacement) costs about 70,000,000 - 80,000,000 VND (excluding health insurance). After replacement, the lifespan of the hip joint can be maintained for 15-20 years, after which a second hip replacement is required. The second replacement is much more difficult and the cost also increases.

“Previously, femoral head necrosis often appeared in people over 40 years old, but now, the number of people aged 20-30 with the disease is increasing, showing a trend of rejuvenation of the disease. Notably, the main cause of this rejuvenation is mainly due to alcohol and tobacco addiction...

Treatment and early detection of femoral head necrosis in young people are difficult, because most patients are subjective, thinking that with their youthful health, hip pain will go away after a few days. Therefore, they often come to the doctor late and the disease is already at a severe stage. The habit of smoking is difficult to quit and the subjective awareness of young people makes them less likely to update information related to their health when there are signs of illness," added Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Mung.

Source: https://laodong.vn/y-te/nhieu-benh-nhan-tre-bi-hoai-tu-chom-xuong-dui-1384669.ldo