Ex-Major with spine injury back on feet

NEW DELHI: Doctors at a city hospital helped an ex-Indian army officer, who sustained  serious spinal injury,  get back on his feet.

Himanshu, 35, an ex-Major, sustained fracture in lumbar spine and suffered partial paralysis due to the fracture after a fatal fall from a 30-feet high balcony. He was then based in Haldwani (Uttarakhand).

The case was critical as due to unstable fracture, the bone was crushed and pressing the spinal cord severely, technically known as ‘burst fracture’.

Soon after the fall, he could not walk or stand and after some time developed partial paralysis in his right leg. Himanshu was given first aid at Haldwani and transferred to the Indian Spinal Injuries Center for the surgery.  

Senior Consultant at ISIC, Dr Neeraj Gupta said: “We found that he had fractured lumbar spine. Because of the unstable fracture, the bone was crushed and pressing the spinal cord severely. He was operated within 24 hours of his admission in hospital. We fixed the spine with screws and rods – the major challenge for us was to avoid any further damage to the spine,” said Dr Gupta.

After a four-hour-long surgery, the patient showed signs of recovery and took sustained physiotherapy sessions, he was able to stand and walk independently with the help of walker at the time of discharge and went home after 10 days of the surgery.