Scotland on Sunday has published an inspirational story about a 78-year-young woman who underwent a successful knee reconstruction. According to the article, this type of surgery is rarely performed on patients over the age of 40. Thus, at 78, Mrs. Baird is the oldest woman in Britain, and possibly in the world, to have this type of knee reconstruction surgery. 

 

The story is an inspirational account of a woman determined to regain her independence in spite of obstacles. However, the story also paints a gritty texture on the societal expectations that an elderly woman with her type of injury might be “left with an unstable knee and told to tone things down.”[1]  As the article states, the NHS, the publicly funded health care system of Scotland, “refuse reconstruction surgery to anyone over 40."[2]   However, as Mrs. Baird has demonstrated, the age limits of this type of surgical procedure are not necessarily well- founded and are possibly even discriminatory.

 

References:

[1] Martin Hannan, "Sport surgeon defies doctors' ageist attitude", Scotland on Sunday 05 Apri 2009.  Retrieved on 2008-04-05.

[2] "NHS Scotland", WIkipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Scotland.  Retrieved on 2008-04-05.