Advanced surgery kills man's chronic lower back pain

The patient was walking within a day without any assistance and discharged the day after.

A surgeon at Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery in Dubai performed the the complicated surgery OLIF (oblique lateral interbody fusion) on a 60-year-old patient with chronic lower back pain and related symptoms, including radiating pain and numbness in his feet.
Dr Firas Husban, consultant orthopedic surgeon, said: "The patient showed symptoms resulting from chronic lower back pain for almost a decade.
He was in tremendous agony as he could not walk for more than 200-300m without stopping to get some rest and ease the pain.
The pain in his lower back was radiating down both his legs; he was also experiencing numbness in his feet."
"After investigating the cause of his pain using an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and other tests, we found that he had a spinal canal stenosis (which is a compression of spinal nerve roots or the spinal cord) in the lumbar area. This had affected the L3L4, L4L5, L5S1 areas of his spine, causing his symptoms."
"Considering the patient had two back surgeries in the past without much success, we recommended more targeted procedures: a minimal invasive spinal fusion DLIF (direct lateral interbody fusion) to treat issues with the L3L4 and L4L5 vertebrae, and OLIF for the L5S1 area," he explained.
He added: "The surgery was done through a small cut in the lateral region (on the side) of the abdomen. We had to access the area behind the major organs and blood vessels in the region, reaching the affected discs from the anterior. The intervertebral discs were then removed, followed by the placement of a synthetic spacer cage and bone grafts. These promote bone healing and facilitate fusion."
The patient was walking within a day without any assistance and discharged the day after. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to make a full recovery in three months.
"Lately, a minimal invasive spine fusion technique was introduced called OLIF. This approach is performed through a small incision at the side of the abdomen. Splitting muscle fibres without cutting and going behind the viscera reaching the most distant disc (L5 S1) directly. The disc is completely removed and replaced by special prosthesis relieving all compression over the nerves."
He said that the procedure offered much lower risk for complications, less bleeding and faster recovery within days. Using spinal cord monitoring devise during surgery made nerves and spinal cord injury rates extremely rare, he added.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com