A 103-year-old Mount Prospect man is believed to be the oldest person on record to undergo a total hip replacement. Harold E. Weary set the unofficial world record Monday, Oct. 10, with an orthopedic procedure at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill. His right hip was replaced.
A total hip replacement is a surgical procedure whereby the diseased cartilage and bone of the hip joint is surgically replaced with artificial materials. According to GuinnessWorldRecords.com, the oldest person to have a total hip replacement was a 101-year-old woman from the United Kingdom in 2007.
Weary was born on Oct. 7, 1908. The orthopedic surgeon who performed the total hip replacement is Dr. Phillip Ludkowski, who has been on the medical staff at Northwest Community Hospital since 1988.