Dubai: A Dubai patient’s nine-month battle with chronic back pain has been relieved with the insertion of six titanium screws and two rods through minimal invasive surgery.
Andy Mercer, 48, visited Emirates Hospital in Jumeirah complaining of severe lower back pain. He was referred to Dr Aseem Al Haj, consultant neuro and spine surgeon, who conducted a detailed investigation. 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,” said Dr. Al Haj. “During the procedure percutaneous screws were inserted into the vertebrae through small incisions in the skin to help stabilise the spine.”
The surgery causes minimal bleeding, quick recovery and less pain post-surgery.
Mercer was discharged four days later and was back to work within two weeks.
“It feels great and I’m having no issues at all,” said Mercer. “I’m glad the surgery has left minimal scarring. I’ll be starting physiotherapy by the end of the year and can’t wait to be back on a golf course by next August.”
While this technique is generally used to treat patients with degenerative diseases such as lower back pain, misplacement of disc or instability in the spine, it is also used to treat tumors and fractures.
