It’s not just posture this surgery corrects in Karnataka

Eight-year-old Mithun is a football enthusiast. What is remarkable about Mithun’s interest in sports is that he also suffers from a problem called scholiosis, a medical term for the curvature of the spine, which could affect normal growth and the performance of daily activities.

Doctors at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital recently performed spine correcting surgery on Mithun. “He cannot possibly take up football at a professional level, with this condition. But after the surgery, he can expect to play like any child his age, and he will be able to walk tall and straight, as the spinal condition would be corrected,” said doctors who performed the surgery.

Mithun was suffering from congenital scoliosis, and multiple hemivertebra — one side of the vertebrae were incompletely developed, for his age. Such a condition is extremely rare, but estimates put the incidence of congenital scholiosis at about two children in every 1,000.

Mithun’s case is unique, for he is the first child in Karnataka to have undergone growth-preserving scoliosis surgery, a two-and-a-half-hour long procedure. The surgery was conducted on May 20.

“In this type of surgery, screws and rods are inserted, but in such a way that the growth of the spine is not disturbed. The spine, along with the rods, can be lengthened every six months, till the child attains 12 years of age, by a small incision. Generally, the spine achieves nearly 90% of its full size by the time the child is 12 years old,” said Dr Mahesh Bijjawara, spine surgeon, Jain Hospital.

The other option that doctors had to correct Mithun’s condition was to fuse the spine into one single block, so that the curve does not progress. However, that procedure would also have stopped the growth of the spine in the fused area. The child would then have a short trunk, and his body would have little space for the growth of vital organs like the lungs and heart.

Scoliosis was first noticed in Mithun when he was just three years old. It was only more recently, however, that his parents became conscious of the progressive back deformity, as his trunk curved to the right side.

“We consulted a doctor from Mysore, who referred us here. A month after the surgery, we can already see the difference. Though Mithun is limping, his condition is much better. Moreover, doctors have said that he will be able to walk normally in days to come,” said Mohan Venkatraju, a Karnataka Power Corporation Limited employee from Raichur and father of Mithun.

The treatment continues, however, and Mithun will have to undergo a key-hole procedure, once in every six months, for another three to four years.

“Treatment for scoliosis depends on the cause, the size and location of the curve. Mild cases of scoliosis may not affect daily life, but severe cases can be painful and limit normal activity. To stop the curve from getting worse, surgical intervention is required. Preserving growth without compromising the abnormal curve correction in this kind of patient becomes important, though challenging,” said Dr Bijjawara.