CHENNAI: Surgeons at a city hospital have set right the curved spine of a 19-year-old man by operating through the chest.
For several years, Mohamed Meshari of Sri Lanka, walked around with a bent back. Doctors found he had scoliosis - an abnormal curvature of the spine, which causes pain and health problems, including respiratory problems, and limits activity. His sister, too, had the condition.
More than anything else, for patients like Meshari, it's the self-esteem that gets hurt. Meshari decided to visit Chennai for a surgical correction after he saw a vast improvement in his sister's condition after a surgery she underwent in the UK. At Global Hospitals, chief of brain and spine surgeon Dr K Sridhar performed a complex surgery in two stages to correct the deformity.
Instead of cutting open the back, which was difficult in this case, doctors opened the chest and corrected the spine. Four days later, they opened the back and put screws in the spine to keep it stiff. Each of these surgeries took approximately 12 hours. "We had to be very careful as any wrong move or extra force in straightening the spine would have left the boy paralysed waist down for the rest of his life," said Dr Sridhar.
But the challenge wasn't over yet. The doctors had to do a test to see if they had damaged any nerve or spinal cord during the surgery. A team of neuro-anesthetists led by Dr Ponniah performed a 'wake-up test' and found everything to be fine. The surgery corrected more than 60% of Meshari's curve, doctors said.
Meshari has been declared fit for discharge and he would soon be flying back home without stooping.
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