Dubai: A spine specialist in Dubai has successfully operated on a 39-year-old patient with a prolapsed disc, restoring complete mobility to his limbs.
A prolapsed disc, commonly called a ‘slipped’ disc, often causes severe lower back pain as the disc often presses on a nerve root.
Dr Firas Husban, spine specialist and surgeon at Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery, conducted a complicated yet minimally invasive surgery on Thalji Karam Mamoun to remove his prolapsed L5 disc, replace it with a bony cage and add a bone graft to stimulate growth.
Dr Husban told Gulf News that when Mamoun came to him, he had been experiencing lower back pain for three years and the severity had been increasing. “The pain spread to his lower limbs which gradually restricted his mobility. He tried many conservative modalities such as medications and physiotherapy sessions,” Dr Husban said.
Dr Husban conducted a detailed investigation after which Mamoun was diagnosed with a prolapse L5S1 disc with collapse and compression over the nerve roots. “I conducted OLIF which is a minimally invasive spine procedure where a small incision is done on the lateral aspect of the abdomen, dissecting between the muscles and preserving them from being cut until we reach the desired disc. The disc was completely removed and replaced by a synthetic cage made of a special polymer. I also added a bone graft taken from a US-based tissue bank which is more of a scaffold over which the patient’s own bone tissue is stimulated to grow. Due to the advanced stage of the patient’s condition, a percutaneous fixation with screws was done by 1-2cm incisions. This procedure carries much lower risk of bleeding, infection and nerve damage. Mamoun recovered very well and was able to walk without assistance one day after surgery and was discharged after three days.”
Dr Husban said that this procedure, which is common in the US and Europe, was introduced very successfully by him in the UAE and holds out a promise for quick recovery.
Dr Husban added that sedentary lifestyles and bad postures were leading to lower back pain and disc complications even among young people.
“Most people have office-bound jobs and barely walk for the better part of the day. Obesity and tummy fat puts undue pressure on the lower back leading to spine degeneration and disc injures. People must have healthy nutritious food, avoid sitting in chairs all day, and move to avoid such conditions,” he advised.
