WB doctors perform rare surgery on 14-year-old with spinal deformity

Doctors under the guidance of Professor Kiran Mukherjee successfully treated a 14-year-old girl suffering from a spinal deformity, helping her stand straight on her feet after 12 years.

Kolkata: Performing a miraculous surgery at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Professor Kiran Mukherjee of the Orthopaedic department gave a new lease of life to a 14-year-old girl here suffering from scoliosis. The minor had a massive curvature in her spine. She was suffering from the congenital disease for the past 12 years.

The ninth-grade student at Kashimanagar High School in the Kashimnagar area of Murshidabad had received a cycle this year from school, but due to her rapidly growing spine deformity, she could not ride it. With growing age and complications, her life was becoming severely affected by the disease. It had rendered her with walking difficulty, back pain and distorted physical appearance with significant hunch back deformity.

Scoliosis results in the bending of the human spine hindering patients from standing straight. In this case, she had leaned forward so much that there was no gap between her stomach and chest. Owing to the complications involved in the surgery, many hospitals failed to operate on her.

"We occasionally get patients with scoliosis. And in this case, the situation was more complicated as the teenager was bent 82 degrees. She had also started having problems with her lungs and stomach," the doctor said. The team of doctors led by Professor Kiran Mukherjee performed the rare surgery in mid-January.

Since scoliosis is a spinal issue, surgery is done from the back side of the body. However, in her case, the doctors had to perform the surgery from the front given her severely inclined and deformed spine. The entire spine was straightened with screws and rods. "There are many benefits of undergoing surgery at a young age as with age, one loses flexibility, which would have made the surgery even more challenging," added the doctor.

The patient's mother said, "My mother-in-law also had scoliosis. However, she never received treatment. I was very concerned about my daughter. We consulted doctors but to no avail. We went to a private hospital, which informed us that the treatment would cost around 12 lakhs. Given our, socioeconomic status, we could not afford it."

Five months ago, they came to Kolkata for treatment. The patient was referred from Chittaranjan Hospital to SSKM Hospital and from there referred to NRS in Kolkata. Currently, she is completely fine. Though the doctors have advised her to not lean forward and lift heavy things, she is excited to stand up straight after ages. "The surgery has made me taller as my spine has been straightened. My height now is 6 feet 4 inches, said the girl with a smile on her face.