Infant successfully treated for rare disorder

CHENNAI: Kauvery Hospital successfully treated a two-year-old girl diagnosed with spondylolisthesis of the L5-S1 vertebra — a complete slippage of one vertebra over the other. According to a statement from the hospital, the girl developed sudden back and leg pain and was unable to move or walk. Later, a lump developed on her lower back and she was taken to a local hospital for diagnosis. 

“An MRI scan and investigations confirmed that the child had severe spinal cord and nerve compression and needed surgery,” said Dr G Balamurali, Head of Department Spine Surgery, Kauvery Hospital. This condition is very rare among children and there is no documented medical literature that details a treatment plan. Only a few cases have been treated successfully at this age. 

The child belonged to the fishermen community and her family could not afford the surgery. Hence, various sources of funding were raised through the Thalirgal Project, an initiative of Rotary Club of Madras North, State Government, Kauvery Hospital and some outside donors through crowd funding helped to perform the surgery.

Speaking on the uniqueness of case, Dr Manivannan Selvaraj, Founder & Managing Director Kauvery Hospital said, “So far, the youngest case with a similar diagnosis reported worldwide was a three-year-old child, so ours was the youngest reported case. I congratulate Dr Balamurali and team for successfully treating the child and relieve her from the agony of immobility.”