Chennai doctors fix 100°-curved spine of 16-year-old boy, Health News, ET HealthWorld

CHENNAI: A 16-year-old boy underwent surgery for 18 hours over two days to correct a severe spinal deformity at a city hospital. Doctors said the boy was suffering from a condition called idiopathic kyphoscoliosis — an abnormal curvature of the spine.

The deformity started when the boy was 10 and kept growing to become very pronounced in the past three years, senior spine surgeon Dr Vijayaraghavan of MGM Healthcare said. “But it was difficult for him to carry on with his day-to-day activities. He was unable to even lie down flat due to the hunchback,” he said.

The boy weighed just 24kg and had severe psychological issues too. Doctors say deformities are usually measured at angles and curves more than 10 degrees are considered abnormal. In this case, the boy had a 100-degree curvature.

If neglected, spine deformities could pose a threat to life as they continue to grow even after a child attains skeletal maturity. Doctors performed two surgical procedures under the same anaesthesia on two consecutive days. “On the first day, the spine was approached anteriorly (from the front).

We opened the chest to loosen up the curve by doing discectomies, wihch lasted for eight hours. On the second day, the spine was approached posteriorly and the spine corrective surgery using rods and screws was performed for ten hours,” Dr Vijayaraghavan said. The boy is doing well after surgery. “We have not only corrected the deformity but also added a smile to his face,” he said.