Ethiopian patient with Kyphoscoliosis (Anaconda Spine), treated successfully at SIMS Hospital

Ethiopian patient with Kyphoscoliosis (Anaconda Spine), treated successfully at SIMS Hospital

 

Chennai, 05 July 2022: An expert group of surgeons from SIMS Hospital, a leading multispecialty hospital in the city, recently conducted a high-performance surgery to cure a severe case of Kyphoscoliosis. The 15 year old Ethiopian patient - Master Tesfaye Mengesha Mersha was diagnosed with severe Kyphoscoliosis, which in a spine surgery circle called ‘Anaconda Spine’, a 110 deformity of the upper spine in the chest area. Living with a dream of playing football, the spine deformity severely affected Mersha’s ability to walk coming in the way of his dream. The surgery was conducted by Dr. K Appaji Krishnan, Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon, Asian Orthopaedic Institute, SIMS Hospital with a panel of doctors & Nursing staff.

 Mersha is suffering from Neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition which causes deformity in the spine.  Mersha was a normal boy till 6 years ago, when his parents started noticing a deformity in the upper back. The deformity has progressed to this severity over time. He was brought to SIMS Hospital in the month of May with a unique condition of Kyphoscoliosis- a 110 degrees curve in the spine shaped like an Anaconda. The curved spine was obstructing the expansion of the lungs and making a back pressure to the heart. Recognising the severity of the condition, the team immediately developed a specific treatment protocol. It was decided to treat Mersha with a halo gravity traction by hanging 13-14kg of weight to the patients head for a continual 4 weeks time period to stretch th