The child who fell from the bicycle underwent surgery twice, doctors claimed to cure the cripple.
MP. An 11 year old child living in Silwani of Raisen district fell while riding a bicycle. Due to this, the bone between his neck and head moved out of its place and it pressed the spinal cord. He almost became crippled because of this. Both his hands and legs had stopped working. He was not even able to stand on his feet. He had to depend on his family members for all his work. This child has undergone successful operation in two stages in the Neuro Surgery Department of BMHRC.
The child is now much better than before and has started walking on his feet. Doctors say that the child will recover completely in the next 6 months. Apart from BMHRC, this surgery is being done only in selected hospitals of Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Sandeep Sorte, head of the neurosurgery department of BMHRC, said that the child’s parents had come to BMHRC after being disappointed with several hospitals. After CT scan and MRI examination, it was decided to operate the child in two stages. In the first phase, a bone which was putting pressure on the spinal cord was surgically cut through the mouth. This entire operation took about 3-4 hours. Dr. Saurabh Dixit, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuro Surgery, said that the second phase was done after a few days.
In this stage, the bone at the back of the neck was cut and the remaining bone was connected with screws and rods. In this way the pressure on the entire spinal cord was removed. This phase took a total of 7-8 hours. After the operation, the patient’s physiotherapy was started. Dr. Nehal Shah, physiotherapist in the physiotherapy department of BMHRC, said that before the operation, the patient had no strength in his muscles, for which he was made to do some exercises of his hands and legs. Exercise for breathing was also suggested. As the muscles started working after the operation, he was taught some more exercise methods and was moved around in a wheelchair. Then, as the strength in his legs increased, he was fitted with a dynamic foot-drop splint and at the time of discharge, he was also taught exercises to do at home. After a few days of physiotherapy, his condition is gradually improving.
Dr. Dixit told that it was not possible to operate the patient in one go, because the bone that was putting pressure on the spinal cord had to be cut once from the front and once from the back. The age of the child was young, so it was important to keep in mind how long to keep him unconscious. Dr. Sarika Katiyar, Professor in the Anesthesia Department of BMHRC, said that for the operation, the patient has to be given general anesthesia. A tube is passed from the mouth to the lungs to anesthetize the patient and provide artificial respiration. Since the patient’s spinal cord was pressed against the neck bone, inserting the tube was very risky. It is equally difficult to take out this tube after surgery. If there is even a slight disturbance, the patient may become a victim of paralysis. During the operation, the heart rate and blood pressure of such patients keep increasing and decreasing, it is very difficult to maintain it. Dr. Sandeep Sorte told that the joint of head and neck is very delicate. There are large and major blood arteries around it, hence extra care has to be taken while performing the operation. There is also a risk of excessive bleeding during the operation. After the operation, there is a possibility of the patient being on ventilator support for a long time.
