A rare twin surgery was performed on a 27-year-old pregnant woman by a team of doctors at the Government General Hospital here in August. Easwari, from Sriperumbudur, underwent a Caesarean section and was also operated for a Dorsal spine hematoma, a blood clot on the spine.
Easwsri was suffering from low back pain that was aggravated during the final months of her pregnancy and suffered from numbness and weakness in her legs. She soon developed dense paraplegia, and lost sensation and reflexes in her lower limbs.
This caused bladder dysfunction and urinary hesitancy. As her condition worsened, she was admitted at the Government General Hospital and a team of obstetricians headed by Dr Sasirekha did a Caesarean section on her and delivered a baby weighing 1.8 kg. It was immediately followed by a neurosurgery by doctors R. Arunkumar, Kodeeswaran and Manorajitha Kumara. The team removed a large epidural hematoma, a clot on the spine. The dual surgeries lasted for two hours.
“Once the clot was removed, the compression on the spinal cord was relieved. That helped her regain bladder control,” explained Dr. Arunkumar. Though she has got back the sensation in her limbs, it will take some months for her to be able to walk again. “There is a greater possibility of regaining her lower limb movements soon with physiotherapy treatments,” Dr Arunkumar added.
Medical Superintendent D.C. Veni said both the surgeries had to be done immediately as her limb condition had worsened but the foetus was healthy. “She was in her 32nd week of pregnancy and after ultrasound and MRI scans, we decided to go ahead with both operations at the same time,” she said.