Six-year-old Shruti Borse from Bhayandar, and four-year-old Mansi Marathe from Pune had one thing in common — a rare congenital disease called scoliosis.
A pioneering procedure by a Mumbai-based doctor has given two girls a chance to lead a normal life
MUMBAI: Six-year-old Shruti Borse from Bhayandar, and four-year-old Mansi Marathe from Pune had one thing in common — a rare congenital disease called scoliosis (abnormal vertebral formation). Scoliosis is a condition that manifests itself with lateral and rotational deformity of the spine.
But thanks to a pathbreaking surgery, performed for the first time in the country by a Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon on Saturday, the two girls will now be able to stand up straight and breathe without discomfort — something they have not been able to do since birth.
The new procedure involved implanting a device known as a Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR), which helps support the chest and corrects the spinal deformity without fusing the spine. “We gave the girls titanium ribs that can be expanded in a minor surgical procedure every six months,” explained Dr Ashok Johari, orthopaedic spine surgeon, who performed the three-hour-long surgeries, along with German orthopaedist Rudiger Krauspe.
Though the girls have led normal lives so far, the prognosis for the future was far from normal. “The curvature of Mansi’s spine was over 100 degrees and some of her ribs were fused together. Shruti’s spine was curved at over 60 degrees and some of her ribs were absent,” said Dr Johari. Their condition was aggravated by Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome (TIS), brought on by the chest and the ribcages’ inability to support the normal growth of the lungs and spine. “Normally, the chest continues to expand till the age of eight, to allow for the growing lungs. Here, the curved spine, coupled with the diminished size of the chest cavity, had begun to affect their ability to breathe,” explained Dr Johari.
The girls were shortlisted for surgery from a group of 70 scoliosis patients, due to the nature of their deformity. According to the WHO, one in 1,000 people suffers from scoliosis. “But only one in one lakh requires surgery,” said Dr Johari.
“VEPTR has been done on an investigational basis in a few countries like the US and UK, and after the USFDA approval, in India,” said Dr Johari. While the titanium implants cost over 20,000 Euros, they were given free of cost to the girls.
“This is a miraculous surgery. My daughter has never been able to sit straight,” said Harish Marathe, Mansi’s father, a marketing engineer in a Pune-based company.
“We had never heard of such a unique treatment,” said an overwhelmed Eknath, Shruti’s father who works as an assistant teacher in a Bhayandar school.
The girls will require post-operative follow-ups, and a minor surgery every six months to lengthen the rib cage. “But they will lead a normal life now,” said Dr Johari.
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