Six titanium screws and two rods in the back relieves patient from 9 months of chronic pain

Minimal Invasive surgery for the spine continue to evolve

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 24 October 2019: ( AETOSWire)-- Minimal invasive surgeries (MIS) are considered most effective in the treatment of spine related injuries. As advancements in the field continue to take place, several new techniques to treat patients with similar conditions have been introduced, one of them being the ‘minimal invasive percutaneous Pedicle Screw Placement’. So, when 48-year-old Andy Mercer, visited Emirates Hospital- Jumeirah (EHJ) complaining of severe pain in the lower back, he was recommended a similar surgery that would yield quicker and better results.

Mercer first visited the hospital when the back pain was restricting his daily activities, making him heavily dependent on pain killers, muscle relaxants and forcing him to undergo several sessions of physiotherapy for more than 9 months, without significant relief.

Mercer was referred to Dr Aseem Alhaj, Consultant Neuro and Spine surgeon of Emirates Hospital – Jumeriah, who conducted a detailed MRI and X-ray on him. Results revealed that he had a defect in the posterior part of the vertebrae, causing instability in movement along with degenerative changes caused by one vertebra slipping over the other.

“We then decided to go for surgical treatment opting for the most advanced minimally invasive spine surgery. During the procedure percutaneous screws were inserted into the vertebrae through small incisions in the skin to help stabilize the spine. To monitor the nerves throughout the duration of the surgery neuromonitoring was done, and the spinal canal was opened with the help of a microscope to make more room for the nerve roots,” said Dr Aseem.

The advantage of the surgery in comparison to the open traditional surgery is that it causes minimal bleeding during the surgery and less pain post-surgery. The recovery time is reported to be faster, allowing the patient to resume their normal activities at the earliest. In this case, Mercer was discharged four days after the surgery and could get back to work two weeks after, reporting no complications.

“It feels great that the doctors were able to identify a way to treat this debilitating pain and treat it. It currently feels great and I’m having no issues at all. I’m glad the surgery has left minimal scarring and I’ll be starting physiotherapy end of this year and cannot wait to get back to the golf course by August next year,” Mercer said.

Minimal invasive technique is accomplished through small incisions resulting in lesser intraoperative blood loss, faster recovery and minimal postoperative pain, compared to conventional surgical techniques. While this technique is generally used to treat patients with degenerative diseases such as low back pain, misplacement of disc, or instability in spine, it is also used to treat tumors and fractures, providing an accurate solution for the placement of spinal hardware or in the decompression of the spine.