New spine surgery comes to Xizang

(China Daily)- People’s Hospital in Lhasa, Xizang autonomous region, has successfully conducted a minimally invasive surgery to repair a patient’s broken upper spine. The patient was discharged just two days after the procedure, Xizang Satellite TV reported.

The surgery, a first in the region, repaired the odontoid process, a bony protrusion on the second cervical vertebra.

Cai Siyi, a doctor from Peking Union Medical College Hospital working as an Aid-Xizang doctor, collaborated with Peng Chao and Losang Chinley, chief physicians in the orthopedic spine department of People’s Hospital. They oversaw the patient’s care and collectively devised treatment strategies.

Odontoid process fractures represent 10 to 20 percent of all acute cervical spine fractures in early adulthood and old age. Poor recovery from such fractures can lead to chronic pain, restricted neck mobility or even paralysis.

The minimally invasive surgery technique, which demands a high level of skill from the surgical team, is less traumatic for the patient and recovery is quick. It also preserves the range of motion between the first and second cervical vertebrae.