A new procedure being performed at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is helping patients to recover quicker, using a less painful path.
For patients who suffer from spinal disorders, the pain can be debilitating. That was the case for Dr. Robyn Klein, who suffered from a herniated disc last December.
“Intense shooting pain all the way down my leg, into my foot, it was unbearable. I couldn’t walk, I could barely sit, I could do nothing,” said Dr. Klein.
The neuro-infectious disease specialist and scientist with Western University was fortunate a spot was available for her to have spinal endoscopic surgery performed by Neurosurgeon Dr. Neil Duggal this past April.
“This procedure is using a very small incision that splits the muscle, and it has water going through it with a scope, and by doing that, it has less bleeding and so therefore less scarring around the nerves,” explained Dr. Duggal.
LHSC is the first hospital in Ontario to have performed this new procedure. And Dr. Klein is one of only six patients to have this surgery performed at LHSC.
“I’ve gotten my life back. I’m doing everything that I was doing before. I still have some soreness and some stiffness, and obviously now, I’m really sore from all the exercise doing, but that’s good soreness, not what I had before,” said an enthusiastic Dr. Klein.
Surgeons use a slender, tube-like camera called an endoscope to visualize the spine through small incisions. The surgical procedure offers the most minimally invasive approach to treating conditions, such as herniated discs and other degenerative disc diseases.
Dr. Duggal is passionate about innovation and minimally invasive techniques and said using cutting-edge technology to provide the most current surgical techniques for patients in Southwestern Ontario will help shorten a lengthy waitlist of spinal surgery patients.
“This procedure, for example, will hopefully result in fewer hospital admissions and such that we can do more cases and work our way through the waitlist,” explained Dr. Duggal.
The new procedure represents an important advancement in care that is transforming the way patients deal with back pain across Ontario.
