Paralysed UAE man walks again after intense surgery

Dubai - The young man came to the hospital paralysed in his hands and legs.

In a highly complicated surgery, Rashid Hospital doctors succeeded in saving the life of a 27-year-old patient who became paralysed due to a tumor located between the bottom of his neck and chest.
The surgery was done by a neurosurgical team led by Dr Najmedden Attabib, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spine Surgeon at Rashid Hospital who said the young man came to the hospital with his hands and legs paralysed.
"After undergoing a series of medical tests, we found that he has a big tumor in the cervicothoracic junction. The tumor which was between the very bottom of his neck and chest was putting pressure on his spinal cord and this caused him to become paralyzed in the hands and feet," said Dr Attabib.
Dr Attabib said that a surgery was needed to remove the tumor and relieve the spinal cord from pressure as it was not only causing paralysis, but was also affecting the vocal cords which can be life threatening.
"Before the surgery, Interventional Radiologist, Dr Ayman Al Sibai, conducted an endovascular embolization procedure, which aimed to stop the blood from going to the tumor during the surgery. This made a huge difference as the patient only bled less than a litre, making the surgery shorter. Usually blood from such surgeries can reach up to 2-3 litres."
After the embolization procedure, Dr Attabib and his team conducted an 11-hour-surgery that was divided in to two stages. In the first stage, the doctors removed the tumor and the mass, which took six hours. "In the first stage we removed the vertebra with the tumor replaced it with anterior interbody cages - they are titanium cylinders that are placed in the disc space to allow the spine to be fused and allow the bone graft," he explained.
In the second stage, the doctors removed the remaining tumor from the back. "This relieved the pressure from the spinal cord and within two days the patient was able to move his hands and legs. He was able to walk again."
Dr Attabib said the patient is now stable and undergoing physiotherapy. He has also been moved to the oncology department for further treatment.
- asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai