Treatment with Endoscopic Percutaneous Disc Surgery gives a new lease of life to a long-term back pain patient, at Tirunelveli Kauvery Hospital
Tirunelveli Kauvery Hospital, one of the leading multi-specialty healthcare hospital chains in India has always been at the forefront of medical treatment, technology and services.
A female patient aged 48 years approached Kauvery hospital with complaints of long-term back pain for over 5 years, and frequent pain on both the legs.
She was admitted as an inpatient at the Kauvery hospital and since MRI test done earlier had failed to diagnose the pain area, a special test named discography was done. Discography, also known as a discogram, is an imaging test that helps determine the cause of chronic back pain. It involves injecting a local anaesthetic and dye into a spinal disc to identify which disc is causing pain. The L4-L5 and L5-S1 are two of the most common lumbar spine segments that are associated with back pain, and discography test results showed that these were damaged.
We recommended a microsurgery called Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD) to the patient and she agreed. This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat herniated discs in the lower back. The procedure involves the use of a small endoscope that is inserted through a small incision in the patient’s back to remove damaged tissues and a sophisticated procedure with Radio Frequency is used to remove damaged nerves.
Speaking of this, Consultant Orthopaedician Laser & Endoscopic Spine Surgeon Dr. K. Sekar said, “Within 24 hours of the surgery the patient felt very relieved with virtually no pain at all. She was very happy that for the first time in 5 years she felt pain-free. Moreover, her legs were functioning normal again and she was able to stand and walk. This one particular surgery had wiped out her 5 years of misery! We were able to achieve this only because of the sophisticated test called discography which caught the pain areas, which a normal MRI failed to diagnose. And without a proper diagnosis the patient would not only have suffered pain, but also run the risk of psychological trauma”.
Dr. K. Sekar
Consultant Orthopaedician Laser & Endoscopic Spine Surgeon
Kauvery Hospital, Tirunelveli
