65-year-old woman undergoes vertebral body stenting in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Surgeons at KIMS Hospital, Kondapur, performed vertebral body stenting on a 65-year-old woman, who had suffered a fracture after a fall.

Using the latest surgical technique, the surgeons planted the stent in the spine to stabilise the fracture. This is claimed to be the first such procedure in Hyderabad.

Vertebral body stenting is a minimally invasive technique where a metal stent is used to stabilise fractures, just like a cardiac stent.

The patient had not recognised the fracture that was caused due to the fall. After a scan at KIMS, renowned spinal surgeon Dr Krishna Chaitanya recognised a fracture in her L2 vertebral bone and suggested vertebral body stenting to ensure best recovery.

According to the doctor, this highly advanced procedure helps cure osteoporotic fractures within no time.

"The patient suffered a fall at her home in June and had severe back pain, and was unable to walk. Considering her condition, it was very risky to operate under anesthesia and the procedure was planned under sedation. Since her bone height was reduced due to the fracture, a stent was sent to fix the bone,” he said.

"This procedure is for elders whose vertebral bones have suffered osteoporotic fractures and other minor damages. The stent is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson Company. Usually the stent that is sent inside will be 80 per cent in height of the bone. There are multiple options available according to the vertebral length of the patient,” he said.

The patient has taken a turn to normalcy within a few hours post operation and started walking without any issues.

About the benefits of this procedure, Chaitanya said: "The entire procedure is done in 20 minutes with no blood loss. In previous procedures, the operation would last for 3-4 hours where screws are fixed to reduce the fracture and it also causes heavy blood loss and many months of recovery. Whereas in Vertebral Body Stenting, a small needle goes inside the spine through which a stent is sent and it would spread across the bone and fix it in its original position. For example, when a person has a spinal fracture, the bone height would reduce by 0.5 mm-1 cm. The stent would ensure the bone reaches the same height as before. There is also no pain involved in this procedure and the patient can easily walk within a few hours post operation.”