Pain relief surgery for man, 14 years after accident

August 29, 2015 12:00 am | Updated March 29, 2016 06:04 pm IST - CHENNAI:

In 2001, S. Kiran of Bangalore was involved in road accident resulting in multiple fractures on his right leg, and right arm. Although his external injuries healed, he was left with an acute pain in his arm for 14 years.

After trying several treatments for his pain, he finally underwent a spinal surgery called DREZ (Dorsal Root Entry Zone) Rhizotomy recently and is now pain free.

G. Balamurali, Neuro-Spine surgeon who performed the surgery at Kauvery Hospitals in the city said Mr. Kiran had suffered an injury on his Brachial Plexus (a group of nerves branching out of the neck) in the accident. “Essentially the nerves that connect his arm to the spinal cord were ripped out, which resulted in pain. This condition occurs in around 20 per cent of people involved in road accidents, especially motorcyclists,” he said.

The 11-hour surgical procedure involved opening the spinal cord, monitoring the neural structures and mapping it to locate the problem and then creating a lesion at the point to reduce the pain. “This is the second time the patient was undergoing a DREZ, since the first time was ineffective,” Dr. Balamurali explained.

So far, he has operated on 12 patients in the past four years. “These patients have already lost the use of their arm, so this procedure provides only pain relief. While the first line of treatment is always medication, surgery is recommended for patients who have not recovered from the pain after two or three years,” he said.

After trying several treatments for his pain, S. Kiran of Bangalore, finally underwent a spinal surgery called DREZ Rhizotomy and is now pain free.

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