At just 13, Jasmine Paulett is believed to be the youngest in Australia to get an operation most associate with the elderly.
The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a major advisory, warning that social media is feeding a “national youth mental health crisis.”
Diagnosed with the rare degenerative hip disease called Perthes at the age of 11, the now 13-year-old is unable to walk, suffers a twisted spine and has one leg shorter than the other, due to the disintegration of her upper left femur bone.
Soon, the eyes of South Australia’s medical community will be on Jasmine as she becomes possibly the youngest in Australia to get a hip replacement.
The landmark surgery is taking place by stroke of good fortune. While local doctors would not perform a hip replacement on a patient younger than 16, French paediatric orthopaedics specialist Professor Franck Accabled, who happens to be on an eight-month visiting professorship with Flinders Medical Centre, was put in touch with the family and took on the case.
“Everything was going to get worse,” said Jasmine’s mum, Alison, of Paulett Wines in Clare Valley. “They (local doctors) were talking about reconstructive surgery, stunting the growth of the other leg … then this visiting French surgeon who specialises in hips said, ‘this is ridiculous, she needs a new hip now’.
“As far as they can tell, Jaz will be the youngest in Australia to have a hip replacement at 13.”
Alison Paulett and her daughter, Jasmine, 13, who has been diagnosed with Perthes disease. Picture: Matt Turner
Perthes disease affects approximately 1 in 10,000 children aged 2-11, most commonly boys. Younger patients can usually be managed non-operatively, however, Jasmine’s “severe” late onset left no better option, Professor Accabled said.
“The femur head, which is meant to be spherical, collapsed after a couple of months,” he said. “This progressed to a degenerative hip, with signs of missing cartilage on both sides to the pelvis and the femur, which is called arthritis – so more or less the same as elderly people.
“Together with the bad limp, pain and stiffness, this represented a good reason to offer a hip replacement.”
Jasmine Paulett at age 11 in hospital. Picture: supplied
The affected hip. Picture: supplied
The surgery will be performed at The Memorial Hospital on May 30, on the back of the family’s involvement in Clare Valley Gourmet Week.
Jasmine said she felt both “nervous and excited” for surgery, and is most looking forward to ditching her crutches and getting back on a horse – an activity she should be able to resume, with her new titanium hip, in around six months.
The cause of Perthes is unknown. Within months of first experiencing pain in early 2011, Jasmine became hospital-bed bound for three weeks, with her legs in slings, before being put in a wheelchair for five months. To this point, life has been about managing the pain.
Mrs Paulett described her daughter as “so resident; so tough.”
“She never complains,” she said. “She just wants to get back on a horse. She says to me, ‘I don’t care if I don’t compete anymore, I just want to go for a ride with you.”