Kauvery Hospital in Alwarpet says its doctors have successfully treated a two- year-old girl who was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis of the L5-S1 vertebra – a complete
slippage of one vertebra over the other.
‘The girl developed sudden back and leg pain, and she was unable to move or walk. Investigations confirmed that the child had severe spinal cord and nerve compression and needed surgery,” said Dr G. Balamurali, head of department, spine surgery.
The hospital says this condition is very rare among children and there is no documented medical literature that details a treatment plan for this disorder. ‘Two months after the surgery, the child was able to walk straight and resume her normal activities,” adds Dr Balamurali.
The child belonged to the fisherfolk community and her family could not afford the surgery. Hence various sources of funding were raised through the Thalirgal project (an initiative of Rotary Club of Madras North), Tamil Nadu government, Kauvery Hospital and some outside donors through crowd funding helped to fund the surgery.
