Click on the Shaw Hospital star
"Painful hospitalization, happy home, three days to relieve me of more than half a year of pain and torture, God! In only three days, I entered the hospital in a wheelchair and stepped out of the hospital with my chest up! ”
On the day of discharge from run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Ms. Lily (pseudonym), who has been plagued by illness for half a year, excitedly wrote such a paragraph in the circle of friends.
+ + + +
Many people sought medical treatment, and the treatment was fruitless
“
"Be careful! Someone in the back! Hearing the sound, the people in the elevator turned around and gave Lily a strange look.
The pain was unbearable, and she had to squat awkwardly in the elevator to relieve the pain.
This is a real scene that happens in Lily's daily life.
Since the beginning of January 2021, Lily has found that she often sits down and cannot stand up, and it takes a few minutes to get back on her feet and walk straight. At first, Lily didn't pay much attention, but as the onset of symptoms became more and more frequent, she finally couldn't resist going to the hospital for a check-up. The results of the examination showed that she had a lumbar disc herniation.
Curiously, Lily's lumbar disc herniation had as early as 2008, and she used to have left leg pain, but now it is right leg pain. The doctor couldn't say why, and frowned and said to her, "Your disease is very strange!" From the film, it is mainly the left side that compresses the nerves, which should not cause pain in the right leg. It is recommended that you take a good rest and observe again. ”
By mid-September, Lily's pain was getting worse. She began drug treatment under the advice of experts from a top three hospital, during which she was treated by acupuncture, orthopedics, slapping massage and other means for a month and a half, and the pain still did not improve, and even walking was difficult.
In the days that followed, Lily changed several hospitals and re-examined them over and over again, but the experts still couldn't determine the cause. An orthopedic specialist at a top three hospital told Lily: "It really hurts so much, or just try it?" But this part of the general doctor does not dare to open, the risk is too large, the operation is likely to be ineffective, it is recommended that you still carefully consider. ”
For safety reasons, Lily decided not to operate first, and continued to use conservative treatments such as acupuncture, cupping, tuina, bloodletting, small needle knife, and injection of neurotrophic solution. As a result, after five months of treatment, her symptoms did not improve at all, and even became more serious. The intense pain caused her to be unable to stand and walk at all, living in pain every day.
"Since I got this disease, I have taken a basket of medicines for most of the year, pasted hundreds of different plasters, and the symptoms are getting more and more serious. More frightening than the difficulty of seeing a doctor is the aggravation of the disease and the uncertainty of the cause, I am still so young, I can't walk in the future..." Mentioning her medical experience, Lily was exhausted.
Make a clear diagnosis and find out the real culprit
Later, at a party, a friend said to Lily, "Have you seen the Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Department at Run Run Shaw Hospital?" The doctors there are very professional, you go and try it! With the last glimmer of hope, Lily found Professor Fan Shunwu of the Department of Orthopedics at Zhejiang University Shaw Hospital.
After Professor Fan was admitted to the hospital, after relevant imaging examinations and clinical examinations, it was found that Lily's symptoms were very typical of radicular sciatica. This shows that the problem is definitely on the lumbar spine, but it is relatively rare for imaging to show that the problem site is completely opposite to the actual pain site.
With rich clinical experience, Professor Fan Shunwu asked Lily to further her electromyography examination. Soon, Lily's electromyography results came out: Lily's bilateral L5 nerve roots were damaged, which also objectively verified Professor Fan Shunwu's diagnosis - atypical lumbar disc herniation.
Associate Professor Hu Zhijun of the Department of Orthopedics introduced that in general, most lumbar disc herniation compresses nerve roots on one side and causes symptoms of the lower limbs on the ipsilateral side. However, there have also been a small number of patients clinically, in addition to causing ipsilateral symptoms, but also lead to contralateral lower extremity radiating pain, or even only contralateral lower limb symptoms, and Lily belongs to this type of patient.
Solve it in one shot and regain a new life
Definitive diagnosis is the first step, followed by a treatment plan. At present, the literature reports that there is a controversy about the surgical method and scope of surgery for patients such as Lily. Based on the previous treatment experience and combined with the results of Lily's imaging examination, Professor Fan Shunwu's team finally decided to perform minimally invasive intervertebral foraminal surgery for Lily.
The operation was very smooth, ending in more than 40 minutes with an incision of less than 1 cm. At nine o'clock in the morning, Lily returned to the ward from the operating room and immediately went to the ground after the operation. On the first day after the operation, Lily was successfully discharged from the hospital.
"To be honest, the moment I stood up I was almost skeptical. Because of the problem that has plagued me for so long, I can't solve it in so many hospitals, can it really be solved so easily here? Lily was amazed, "But then, the moment I actually stepped on the ground, the previous discomfort was completely gone!" I really feel like I'm back on my own! ”
Professor Fan Shunwu said that the diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation seems simple, but in fact, clinically, the specific situation of each patient is different. If imaging alone is used, the patient is likely to be unable to obtain a definitive diagnosis and treatment. A comprehensive assessment to find out the patient's problem, and then solve the patient's problem at the lowest cost, to be a thinking orthopedic surgeon, is far more difficult than the operation itself.
Associate Professor Hu Zhijun reminded that if there is discomfort such as acidity, swelling, pain, and numbness in the lower limbs, especially when standing or walking, then it is necessary to immediately go to a regular hospital for examination and treatment. Lumbar disc herniation has been compressing the nerve for a long time, and once the nerve is damaged, it is more difficult to recover from treatment in the later stage. Lily was lucky enough to receive timely treatment before the situation worsened.
Foramen surgery is currently the most minimally invasive and advanced technique for removing the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc, which has the advantages of small incision, fast recovery, fewer complications, and preservation of the normal structure of the human body compared with traditional surgery. The Department of Orthopedics of Zhejiang University Shaw Hospital has now opened the day surgery mode of intervertebral foraminal foraminoscopy, which does not require general anesthesia, can be placed on the ground after surgery, and can be completed within 24 hours.
The Department of Orthopedic Spine Surgery of Zhejiang University Shaw Hospital has always adhered to the characteristics of minimally invasive techniques, including minimally invasive treatment of intervertebral disc herniation, spinal stenosis, lumbar spondylosis, lumbar vertebral fracture, cervical spondylosis and other diseases, and enjoys a high reputation in China. Every year, doctors from all over the country come to the department to learn minimally invasive techniques, and there is no shortage of helpless patients like Lily.
Source: Department of Orthopedics, Run Run Shaw Hospital
Original works, reprinted please indicate the source and source
share
Click Favorites
Thumbs up