A spinal surgery is usually fraught with perils. Not only can one small mistake render a patient paralysed for life, but a miscalculation can cause the entire procedure to fail – irreparably. So, when Dr P Sarat Chandra, a spinal surgeon at AIIMS, Delhi devised a new, more efficient and minimally invasive surgery to treat people with spinal injuries, it was accepted by the medical community with open arms.
Called DCER or Distraction, Compression, Extension and Reduction, this surgery manages to combine the positive effects of two surgeries into one fairly simple procedure. According to Dr P. Sarat Chandra, ‘The technique will help reduce deformity in the spine through a single surgery performed from the back of the neck involving the craniovertebral junction (the joint at the upper part of the neck).’ Read more about cervical spondylosis and expert tips to deal with the pain.
‘The surgery normally requires two separate procedures. It first involves drilling out the piece of bone compressing the spinal cord, followed by a procedure performed from behind the nape of neck which helps stabilize the head and neck using rod and screws, this procedure reduces the time of surgery by 50 percent, and has also been shown to reduce the rate of complications and hospital stay significantly.’ Chandra said.
B.S. Sharma, from the department of neurosurgery who was part of the study, shared that the technique currently does not require any special instruments and utilizes the existing ones.
DCER helps release the pressure that is applied due to the misalignment of the topmost portion of the neck and its base. This leads to the compression of the spine and can lead to a number of symptoms and side effects. It can cause dizziness, weakness of limbs, fainting spells, tingling along the legs and hands and in some cases even death. Suffering from back pain? Here are the treatment options and surgeries you could opt for.
With inputs from IANS
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