Dubai: The University Hospital of Sharjah (UHS) successfully removed a tumour from the spine of a 40-year old Emirati woman who has fully recovered. Had the tumour not been operated Fatima (name changed for confidentiality) would have been confined to the wheelchair, said the hospital spokesman. The patient was walking the very next day of the surgery and was discharged two days later after full recovery.
The patient came to UHS with difficulty in walking and was complaining of back pain and numbness in her legs for which she had been prescribed pain killers by other doctors before. Dr Nitin Yogesh, consultant neurosurgeon and spine surgeon at UHS said: “I sensed the abnormality and ordered an MRI that revealed a large spinal tumour, involving nerves which allow the movement of her legs and control urine.”
Dr Yogesh added: “The tumour was located deep in her spinal cord and intermixed with the nerves and measured three-by-two centimetres. However, the tumour was located in the main, vital areas of the spine. Although the tumour was very small, it had the risk of catastrophic consequences.
Fatima said when she came to know about the spinal tumour, she was terrified that it would be difficult for her to walk in future.
The patient was advised surgery and in a six hour minimally invasive procedure, the tumour was removed and the patient mobilised the next day.
Dr Yogesh added: “Spinal surgeries traditionally were quite terrifying for patients as there were no minimally invasive options and no certainty of success earlier. We could successfully remove the tumour but the risk of paralysis was very high. Now, we have nerve-monitoring systems which can tell us the precise locations of the nerves and if they have been cut or damaged. Our advanced techniques and endoscopes substantially reduce the size of incisions and more importantly, make this surgery very safe.”
