Hyderabad: NIMS offers hope to patients suffering from chronic spinal pain

Successfully installs spinal cord stimulation system on patient, an employee of the hospital, who suffered spinal cord injury in road accident two-and-half years ago

Hyderabad: Surgeons at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) on Saturday announced the successful installation of a spinal cord stimulation system on a patient, an employee of the hospital, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a road accident two-and-half years ago, a press release said.

According to NIMS hospital doctors, this is the first in a government hospital in Telangana that a spinal cord stimulation system has been inserted in a patient. Less than 10 cases have so far been done in the corporate sector in Hyderabad to date, they added.

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The patient was operated in the neurosurgery wing and the fractured spine was fixed and fused with rods and screws.

However, he had been paralysed in both the lower limbs. Since then, the patient was wheelchair-bound and under rigorous physiotherapy but developed chronic pain.

The spinal cord stimulator is expected to improve pain and improve muscle activity, and help in mobility rehabilitation.

The surgery was led by Prof Suchanda Bhattacharjee, Dr Ramnadha Reddy and team, and the anaesthesia team comprised Prof Srilatha, Dr Swapna and Dr Avinash.

The spinal cord stimulation procedure has great pain relief capacity for chronic intolerable pain of cancer, failed surgeries and many more indications, the doctors said.