Complex spine surgery performed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A rare and complex spine surgery was successfully performed on 65-year-old Jeffrey Ronald Betts. Jeffrey, who lives in the UK, was treated at the KIMS Hospital. He was in extreme pain due to cervical kyphosis which had progressed over the years.

“The severity of the deformity and the impending paralysis were the challenges before us as we operated him,” said Dr Ranjith Unnikrishnan, KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, who had performed the surgery.  “Safe spine surgery is the need of the hour, and early detection and timely intervention can avoid complex surgery,” he continued. The spine surgery was was performed in two stages.

“In the first stage, the posterior release was done and the spine was corrected with metal implants. The second stage of the procedure included successful removal of compression of the spinal cord via approaching the anterior and replacing it with metal mesh work and plate,” added the doctor.