FLORENCE. He said that he will return to Florence soon because he also has some pain in his knee. Things that happen, at the enviable age of almost 99. In the meantime, however, Ferdinando Tarzia, on the threshold of the century, he underwent hip replacement surgery under local anesthesia at Villa Donatello. The only structure in Italy to welcome him, given that from everywhere – basically due to his age – the man had only received firm “no” answers. But he, stubborn, did not give up, he continued to search and was rewarded. He arrived in Florence from Cosenza, underwent surgery and in just three days he got back in the car and returned home. With – yes – the help of a driving companion.
The surgery at Villa Donatello was performed by Dr Paolo Poli, Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in hip and knee prosthetic surgery. Born in 1925, Tarzia – who worked as a lawyer during his life – suffered from a series of pathologies, including severe arthritis in his left hip. For years he found no one willing to operate on him. Not wanting to give up, he continued searching, until he discovered Villa Donatello. Doctor Poli proposed an operation using minimally invasive techniques and, after having him meet the anesthetist, he decided to operate. An hour, under local anesthesia, standing already in the afternoon, a walk and a bit of gymnastics the following day. Then, on the third day, even the stairs. When the car and the return home. «It is surprising – explains Doctor Poli – that, despite his ailments, the patient followed exactly the same path as people who are thirty or forty years younger».
“It didn’t even feel like I had an operation because I had no pain either during my stay in the clinic or afterwards, despite the eight-hour car journey,” the man said.
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