For those fortunate to reach the ripe old age of 99, there may be some things that are no longer possible \u2013 driving, rollerskating, climbing trees, tackling the grime on exterior windows, for example.<\/p>\n
But under the right conditions, a hip replacement is among things that remain in reach \u2013 and can restore a quality of life that may have felt as if it was gone forever.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been the case for South Surrey\u2019s Da Xu, who elected to have a total hip replacement earlier this year after exhausting \u2013 over a period of two years \u2013 multiple conservative efforts to treat severe arthritic pain in her right hip.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was suffering,\u201d her daughter Xiaqing Lu told Peace Arch News, describing \u201cunbearable pain\u201d that prompted a number of visits to Peace Arch Hospital\u2019s ER.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe ended up in a wheelchair for six months, and couldn\u2019t climb up the stairs to the bedroom\u2026 couldn\u2019t walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
While treatments including cortisone injections provided some relief, the reprieves felt by her once-active mother were short, said Lu.<\/p>\n
Well into her 99th year (she starts her 100th on Oct. 25), Xu was a tad outside the \u201cnormal\u201d age range for the procedure \u2013 it\u2019s most often performed on those aged 60 to 80 years old.<\/p>\n
White Rock orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Kwee estimates he performs 60 to 70 joint replacement surgeries annually, on patients who are an average of 70 to 75 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, we do have folks who are older, but I think it\u2019s definitely an exception to be well over 90,\u201d he said Thursday (Aug. 27).<\/p>\n
Officials with Fraser Health said in the health authority\u2019s last fiscal year (2025-2026), the average age of 472 hip-replacement patients was 70. The oldest was \u201cover 99 years old,\u201d while the youngest was 24.<\/p>\n
Lu said her mom initially felt that, given her age, she\u2019d just try to live with the pain. After all, \u201cI don\u2019t have that many years,\u201d she told Lu.<\/p>\n
But, after an ER doc recommended she see a surgeon, she started on a new path.<\/p>\n
Following the referral, it was around six months before Xu had an appointment. From there, things moved \u201cso quickly,\u201d Lu said.<\/p>\n
At the final pre-surgery appointment, the surgeon \u2013 whom Lu identified as Kwee \u2013 reviewed the potential complications of Xu\u2019s osteoarthritis, COPD and hypertension, as well as \u201cvery clearly\u201d explained the risks, which included bone fracture, heart attack and stroke, before looking Xu in the eye and asking, \u201cDo you really want the surgery?\u201d<\/p>\n
Both mother and daughter were a bit nervous and scared, Lu recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want my mom to suffer the pain. My mom, she said if her life had no quality, she wouldn\u2019t want to live one day longer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her mom was also at peace with the worst-case scenario \u2013 of not waking up from the surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018if I wouldn\u2019t come down from the table, then I would\u2026 so peacefully leave,\u2019\u201d she told Lu.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is real testament to her, because this is major. She just carried on, as a regular day, so that was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xu, who moved with her daughter to South Surrey five years ago, underwent the hip replacement \u2013 coordinated through the Hip and Knee Arthoplasty \u2013 Central Intake and Optimization Clinic \u2013 at PAH on May 11. She was out of bed the following day starting physiotherapy, and spent a week on the surgical ward before transferring to Fraser Health\u2019s PATH (Patient Assessment and Transition to Home) program, followed by receiving the all-clear to head home on May 29.<\/p>\n
Within three weeks of surgery, she was getting around her home with a walker, and on June 16, started venturing outside. <\/p>\n
Told to take things slow for three months \u2013 to minimize the risk of dislocation \u2013 her recovery regime included weekly visits to Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre, physiotherapy, and progress checks every other week, during which Lu said her mom was told she was doing \u201ceven better\u201d than some who have undergone a hip replacement at age 60 and even age 80.<\/p>\n
They celebrated the three-month post-surgery mark with a paddleboard outing at Buntzen Lake.<\/p>\n
Lu described her mom\u2019s hip-replacement journey as \u201ctruly inspiring,\u201d and said she hopes \u201cit can inspire others and also show appreciation for the medical team, especially the surgeon\u2019s team, nursing staff, and the PATH program, along with the advanced medical technology that made this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kwee confirmed his oldest hip-replacement patient \u201cby far\u201d was 99.<\/p>\n
According to Guinness World Records, the oldest person to receive a total hip replacement was U.K resident John Randal, who underwent the surgery in 2011, at 102 years, three months and 30 days old. BBC News reported in 2015 that Isle of Wight resident Gladys Hooper received a hip replacement at age 112. At the time, she was also the U.K.\u2019s oldest woman. <\/p>\n
Kwee noted that not everyone hoping to undergo the procedure is eligible, explaining that overall health plays more of a role in the surgical decision than age. Some patients much younger than Xu have not qualified because of other health issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very much based on the individual and how they come to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For those deemed ineligible at the time, all efforts are made to try and improve their situation so that the surgery might be possible down the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to optimize (their situation) in every other way we can,\u201d Kwee said.<\/p>\n
Kwee said his oldest patient has been \u201cexceptional\u201d in her recovery, and lauded the opportunities medical advancements have provided that make such successes possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate to live in an age where we can do this operation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really does help patients significantly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For those fortunate to reach the ripe old age of 99, there may be some things that are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":875302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-875301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}