A team headed by Dr. Anand Kavi, Specialist Endoscopic Spine Surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Pune successfully managed a 54-year-old woman with back and leg pain due to prolapsed disc. The patient has resumed her daily routine with ease now.

Jyoti Sharma (Name Change), A resident of Lucknow. She is Housewife. Last Few Month she experienced sudden back and leg pain. She was taking treatment for back pain in her home town for 6 months. And later took painkillers. She traveled to Pune to attend the marriage but her pain worsened, so she consulted doctors who advised her urgent surgery to release her compressed spinal nerve as seen in the MRI scan. Due to fear of spinal surgery, she decided to wait, but in 2 days her condition worsened and she had severe pain and numbness. She was unable to get out of bed also she could not travel back home. With her deteriorating condition, her family members approached doctor Anand Kavi and she was admitted to Apollo Spectra Hospital, Pune.

Dr Anand Kavi, Specialist Endoscopic Spine Surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospital, Pune said, “When the patient was brought to the hospital, she could not get out of the bed due to severe pain in the back and leg, for which she had taken very high dose painkillers and steroids, her left leg was Numb and she was unable to move her left foot and leg. She had a feeling of heaviness and tingling in her leg, her back was tilted to one side due to spasm. Her MRI scan clearly showed severe compression of the left leg spinal nerve. She had a prolapsed disc at L4 – L5 severely compressing her left leg spinal nerve.’’

Dr Kavi added, “We did an emergency endoscopic Spinal surgery and decompressed the spinal nerve successfully, which not only relieved her pain but also saved the strength in her leg. In such cases urgent decompression can save the nerve from permanent damage and Endoscopic spine surgery is a very safe procedure, in which the skin cut is so small that even a stitch is not required and open surgery can be avoided, patients can be discharged home the very next day. She was able to walk again on the same day and was discharged from the hospital the very next day. Timing is very important in such cases where the spinal nerve is severely compressed, as delay in diagnosis or treatment can cause permanent damage which cannot be corrected if the surgery is delayed.”

She could even attend the marriage function for which she had come to Pune. All her relatives and guests were surprised to see her magical recovery. “Patients often do home remedies or take self-medication due to fear of surgery and do not take specialist advice on time. We as spine surgeons have knowledge of all the associated therapies from yoga to physiotherapy and we don’t perform surgery on all patients. We know exactly who needs such decompression surgery, 90% times we avoid surgery and we recommend physiotherapy and medicines as we work as one team. But correct diagnosis by a specialist doctor is very essential for correct and timely treatment. Severe compression on spinal nerves if neglected can cause permanent weakness in the legs or even loss of control over urination and defecation. Therefore patients suffering from slipped discs should consult a specialist doctor and get themselves checked without delay and fear, “underscored Dr Kavi.

“My life became miserable after that sudden onset of back and leg pain. Even simple day-to-day tasks such as walking, sitting, sleeping, or standing up were difficult for me. I thought I will never be able to stand on my feet again. But,  I was fortunate to receive prompt treatment from Dr. Anand Kavi, I thank the doctor for helping me to move freely again,” concluded Patient Jyoti.