New Delhi: When 24-year-old Harsha (Name changed) developed a throat infection earlier this year, little could she imagine it will destroy a part of her cervical spine and leading to a high-risk corrective surgery amid a pandemic, performed by the expert surgeon Dr Gururaj Sangondimath at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), New Delhi. The bacterial infection caused by the pathogen pseudomonas disrupted blood flow to C2 vertebrae and destroyed the bone cells, leading to a medical condition known as pyogenic spondylodiscitis. It caused her head to tilt to side and front. She developed severe pain that did not allow her to sit or stand or carry out daily activities of personal care such as eating, clothing, and bathing.
“She was in great pain and came to ISIC after reading about a similar surgery I had performed earlier. We evaluated her thoroughly and found the infection had spread to her bone through blood. Such conditions can be treated through non-surgical processes such as halo waist apploication but the infection had broken her C2 vertebrae and she was in terrible pain and needed corrective surgery. There were two challenges – one was preparing for the surgery which requires special respirators to filter bone dust and droplets released during surgery in this pandemic. The other was the risk to the patient – the site of surgery was very close to the brainstem and required fixing a screw in the C1 vertebrae through Goyal and Harms technique; slightest mistake could have rendered her quadriplegic (paralysed below the neck, including both arms and legs) for life,” says Dr. Gururaj Sangondimath, Consultant, Spine Surgery ISIC.
She underwent an internal C1-C2 fixation and fusion during a 2-hour-long surgery. “After the surgery, she could walk and do her daily routine activities from next day onwards, and was discharged after 05 days. She was put on antibiotics for the infection and after 3 months of treatment, she is completely cured. People should be careful about symptoms like severe pain, weakness, night cries, weight loss that could indicate an existing infection affecting spine/bones and consult a relevant doctor without delay to reduce the risk of treatment to the patient,” says Dr Gururaj Sangondimath.
Bones can be affected not only by a fracture or any deficiency but also by infections. The condition, known as osteomyelitis, is caused when a fungal or bacterial infection reaches the bone from some other part of the body or develops within the bone. TB is a common infection that affects the bones and the spinal cord. We receive about 60 %cases of spinal TB every year. A bone infection can affect blood circulation within it and cause bone death, prompting the need for a surgery to remove bones and tissues that have died. In most of the cases of bone infection, people are not aware of such eventualities and by the time these cases reach us, the damage has been done. If anyone has any infection, they must remain alert and careful about signs and symptoms that can depict the bone has been affected – Dr H.S Chabbra Medical Director & Chief of Spine Indian Spinal Injuries Center.
