6-year-old undergoes rare spine surgery

CHENNAI: A six-year-old Tanzanian girl, Maureen Richard Shirima, underwent a first of its kind surgery in Chennai, in which bio-resorbable screws were used instead of metal alloy implants to treat a congenital anomaly of the lower spine and spinal cord.

In less than 10 days after the surgery, the girl was back on her feet.

“Metal alloy implants, that were in use until now, caused a lot of side-effects. And after a period of three to six months, the patients would have to undergo another painful surgery to remove these implants as it might cause re-fracture in the affected area. These bio-resorbable screws would be absor­bed by the body in six months and hence need not be removed. Also, it would not affect the growing bone structure,” said Dr Sajan K Hegde, senior consultant spine surgeon, Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, who performed the procedure.

The Tanzanian government has fully funded the girl’s operation including their travel and living expenses. The hospital cost alone worked out to Rs 3,00,000. Following the success of this surgery, Terry, a Canadian who has been suffering from a similar problem for over 20 years, is expected to undergo surgery.