70-year-old gentleman walks again with the help of keyhole spinal surgery

Doctors at BLK-Max Hospital perform one of the complex spinal procedures on a 70-year-old man

Doctors at BLK Max Super Speciality Hospital provided a new lease of life to a 70-year-old patient who was suffering from severe back pain that radiated to his legs and affected his daily chores. Delicate keyhole surgery was performed in the spinal column to decompress the nerve roots that caused the pain.

The patient had been suffering from severe pain in the back and lower limbs, which affected his daily activities of life. He was not even able to walk for 50 meters and the pain would aggravate instantly upon standing for some time.

“Despite trying to seek a permanent solution at various centers, with all hopes lost, he presented to us as a last resort option. Detailed investigations revealed bilateral nerve compression at the L4-5 region (lower back), which required immediate surgical intervention. Pertaining to his age and other associated co-morbidities like diabetes and hypertension, the case was seemingly challenging. Since he had worsening claudication due to the severe canal stenosis, the team decided to perform a minimally invasive Unilateral Laminotomy and Bilateral Decompression (ULBD) procedure, where decompression of the nerve roots and dura was performed through a keyhole incision bilaterally and ensure that the midline structure of the back is preserved. The entire procedure was done under the guidance of a microscope.” said Dr. Puneet Girdhar- Senior Director & Head-Orthopedics Spine Surgery- at BLK Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi

The minimally invasive procedure, medically known as Unilateral Laminotomy and Bilateral Decompression (ULBD) is claimed to be the gold standard treatment for treating patients with neurogenic claudication.

In the procedure, a small keyhole incision on the skin is made to route the serial dilators to dock the interlaminar space in the spinal column. The minimally invasive nature ensures minimal blood loss, shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery, and negligible post-op complications like the risk of infection, etc.

“It was a daycare procedure, the surgery took less than an hour, but with excellent outcomes in such elderly morbid patients, as well. The patient has recovered very well and is able to sit and walk properly since the day of the surgery. He was discharged within a few hours post-surgery and his symptoms of leg pain improved immediately. He started uninterrupted walking for more than 30 minutes comfortably within a week.” He added

In recent times, with the advent of the latest technology, not only the procedures to treat spine-related ailments have become minimally invasive but also recovery time has come down, due to precise and painless treatment modalities.