Noida, April 10 (IANS): Doctors here have successfully treated a 75-year-old woman who was completely bedridden for the last five years due to a severe form of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects joint linings, causing painful swelling.

The disease started affecting the knee joints of Bilquis, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, 20 years ago.

Slowly, the knees started getting crooked and progressed to a stage, where they completely bent to 90 degrees, forcing Bilquis to be bedridden since the last five years.

"If the patient does not take treatment on time, the disease becomes so severe that the joints can turn completely dysfunctional," Sanjay Gupta, Associate Director (Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Department) at Jaypee Hospital, said in a statement on Monday. 

Due to the illness, Bilquis' hip joints were also affected. She had to sleep like a crooked log. 

At the hospital, Bilquis' underwent complex joint reconstruction and corrective soft tissue surgery.

Knee replacement, also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability.

Four surgeries were performed in two stages which took about two hours for each stage, the statement said. 

"The patient has completely recovered and is able to walk now," Gupta said.