South Surrey woman, 99, recovers well after total hip replacement

South Surrey resident Da Xu, 99, has recovered well after a total hip replacement at Peace Arch Hospital following two years of conservative treatment for severe arthritis pain in her right hip. Her daughter, Xiaoqing Lu, said the pain became unbearable, leading to several emergency visits. Xu spent six months in a wheelchair and could not climb the stairs to her bedroom or walk. Cortisone injections brought only short-lived relief.

Xu will begin her 100th year Oct. 25. White Rock orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Kwee said hip replacements are most commonly performed on patients aged 60 to 80 and that surgery on someone well over 90 is exceptional. He performs about 60 to 70 joint replacements annually on patients averaging 70 to 75. Fraser Health said the average age of its 472 hip-replacement patients in fiscal 2025-26 was 70; the oldest was over 99 and the youngest was 24.

Lu said Xu initially planned to live with the pain because of her age, but an emergency doctor advised her to see a surgeon. About six months passed before her appointment. At the final pre-operative visit, Kwee reviewed possible complications from her osteoarthritis, COPD and hypertension, and discussed risks including fracture, heart attack and stroke. Lu said both were nervous, but Xu felt she did not want to continue without quality of life and had accepted even the possibility of not waking after surgery.

The Hip and Knee Arthoplasty – Central Intake and Optimization Clinic coordinated Xu’s May 11 operation at PAH. She began physiotherapy out of bed the next day, spent a week on the surgical ward, then entered Fraser Health’s PATH, or Patient Assessment and Transition to Home, program. She was cleared to go home May 29. Within three weeks, she was moving around home with a walker, and she began going outside June 16.

To reduce dislocation risk, Xu was told to take things slowly for three months. Her recovery included weekly visits to Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre, physiotherapy and progress checks every two weeks. Lu said her mother was told she was doing better than some patients who had hip replacements at 60 or 80. They marked the three-month milestone with a paddleboard outing at Buntzen Lake.

Kwee said Xu is by far his oldest hip-replacement patient and has been exceptional in recovery. Eligibility depends more on overall health than age, he said; some much younger people cannot proceed because of other conditions, and clinicians try to improve those patients’ circumstances where possible. Guinness World Records lists U.K. resident John Randal as the oldest person to receive a total hip replacement, at 102 years, three months and 30 days in 2011. BBC News reported in 2015 that Isle of Wight resident Gladys Hooper had a hip replacement at age 112.