Teacher gets her Life on track post Spinal Surgery

Successful rare Spinal Deformity surgery carried out by team of spinal surgeon at Wockhardt Hospital , Mumbai Central ,on a 60 year old patient lets her teach again …

Mrs. Amrit Kaur, a school teacher from Kolkata Calcutta Emmanuel School complained of frequent headaches, neck pain, right arm pain, gait imbalance for a year. She ignored the same for a long time.  Her life became miserable and she was jolted out of her normal life.

Her regular activities like teaching, bending, and doing other household chores became a distant dream. She consulted various medical professionals but her condition didn’t improve.

However, Wockhardt Hospital came to the patient’s rescue and gave her a new lease of life.

Dr. Abhay Nene, Spine Surgeon at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central shared   “The patient suffered from a rare spinal deformation called Congenital Atlanto Axial Malformation due to defective formation of bone and dislocation of the cervical vertebra 1 and 2. Here, the skull rocks against the neck, and there is a huge strain at the base of the brain and spinal cord. This restricts the head and neck moment and can cause headaches, neck pain, nausea, numbness and breathlessness which can be life-threatening.

At the hospital a dynamic CT scan was advised  to detect this rare condition which shows that the first bone in the neck which is at the base of the skull is slipping against the second bone causing spinal cord compression leading to headache and neck pain.

The treatment regimen included exercises to strengthen the muscles that run between the skull to compensate the joint instability along with cervical collar also known as a neck brace, prior to the surgery.

Later, an occipito-cervical fusion was done which is an effective surgical method to correct the joint instability.  The occipito-cervical fusion (OCF), is a surgery for correcting the instability of joints due to Congenital Atlanto Axial Malformation, and dislocation of first cervical Vertebra over 2nd cervical vertebra. The surgery lasted for 3 hours, and she was discharged on 5th day.

Mrs. Amrit Kaur now feels like  normal person  and says” Wockhardt Hospital was able to identify my condition   and saved my life. After surgery, I have been able to carry out my real-world activities with ease and resumed teaching. I am happy now and want to urge people to opt for timely intervention in case they notice symptoms like headaches and neck pain.”