Wockhardt Hospital South Mumbai Successfully Treated A 50-Year-Old Driver from Mumbai Who Gave Up Driving Due to Slipped Disc

by Priya Jadhav

A slipped disc tends to occur when a soft cushion of tissue between the bones in the spine pushes out compressing the spinal nerves, thus leading to excruciating pain. Similarly, a 50-year-old Rohit Patel (name changed) from Mumbai who suffered from slip disc owing to age-related degeneration and lack of exercises were treated by a team led by Dr. Sambhav Shah, consultant spine surgeon, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central. After undergoing a full endoscopic interlaminar discectomy, the patient could walk with ease 3 hours after the surgery and now can carry out his real-world activities without any difficulty.

Life was beautiful until, Rohit Patel (name changed), a 50-year-old resident of Andheri in Mumbai, who is a driver by profession suffered from slip disc. The patient exhibited symptoms like severe left leg pain, weakness in his foot, numbness, and inability to walk. To his dismay, he had to give up driving through which he earned his livelihood. Fortunately, he was referred to Dr. Sambhav Shah, who helped him get his ‘back’ on track within a day.

Dr Sambhav Shah, consultant spine surgeon, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, highlighted, “One may suffer from a slipped disc when the outer covering tends to become weak or torn and causes the inner portion to slip out. Lifting a heavy object, being overweight or following a sedentary lifestyle can lead to a slipped disc causing pain and discomfort.  Mr. Patel’s MRI revealed that the slipped disc compressed his S1 spinal nerve that resulted in left leg pain, numbness and weakness. Unfortunately, the patient also suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure.

He added, “In most of the cases, the slipped disc gets absorbed by the body within a few weeks and the majority of the patients get better. But, in his case, there was severe pain, numbness, and weakness in the left leg that did not get better with conservative management. The patient was getting stressed as his family depended on his daily wages and the only option was surgery. A full endoscopic interlaminar discectomy was carried out to help him stand on his feet again. A 5 mm incision was made in the back and with the help of a camera, the slipped portion of the disc was removed without removing any bone or ligament. It was a stitchless surgery that lasted for an hour, and the patient was discharged the next day. The advantage of a full endoscopic surgery over other types of surgery (open, microdiscectomy, tube assisted/micro endoscopic surgery) for slipped disc is that the incision is minimal with almost negligible rates of infection. Another major advantage is that there is no need for the removal of normal bone whereas in other forms of surgery the normal bone and ligament need to be removed to gain access to the disc, thus increasing the chance of future degeneration and instability. Dr. Shah further added that full endoscopic surgery is also carried out for other spinal surgeries like spinal canal stenosis, cervical slipped disc and spinal infections.

Mr. Patel at the present is fine and can walk properly. Though, he has been asked to take precautions like not to lift heavy objects by bending forward and changing positions while driving and taking a break from time to time. Patient Mr Patel said “I had to stop driving after I suffered from slip disc and that bothered me the most. Driving is the source of my bread and butter and never thought of giving up on it. But I was fortunate that my family members supported me throughout thick and thin. And after visiting Wockhardt Hospital, my life changed for better. I thank the doctors for successfully treating me and I am all set to resume driving.”