A young woman from St. Vincent in the Caribbean, had spent most of her 20 years suffering from severe scoliosis. The condition, which caused extreme curvature of her spine and a “hunched back” appearance, continued to worsen over the last couple years to the point where her already diminutive stature was disfigured to a stage where her general health was threatened.

With limited resources and no doctors on the island of St. Vincent trained to help her specific condition, the woman’s family reached out to the International Hospital for Children (IHC) in Richmond, Virginia and Richmond orthopedic surgeons H. Robert Tuten, MD, and Chester Sharps, MD, with a desperate plea for help.

Tuten and Sharps, two Richmond based surgeons, each make time to work regularly with the IHC to perform particularly difficult cases in third world countries where medical science suitable to treat specific conditions is not available. In some particularly complex cases, the young patients are sent to the US for treatment, as was the case with the young woman from St. Vincent who arrived for her surgery in October of last year.

For the surgery, Tuten and Dr. Sharps utilized the Preference 2 Complex Spine System™ medical technology developed by Boca Raton-based US Spine. The system, which the doctors had helped develop, featuring state of the art hooks, rods and screws designed to treat complex spinal conditions, was donated by US Spine.

“Without surgery, the already significant curve in this patient’s spine would have continued to increase,” says Tuten. “This would have caused respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Osteoarthritis in the lower back was likely to occur as well. Significant curves can also lead to spinal stenosis. Of course, the cosmetic factor of not having a visible deformity of the back also should be considered.”

The complex surgery required Tuten to implant 24 screws and two rods into the patient’s spine to correct the deformity. The procedure took almost five hours to perform, but ended with significant reduction to the curvature and a more natural alignment.

The surgeons, hospital and medical device makers donated their time, talents and technology to provide this young woman with a “new” back for the New Year. The procedure increased her height two inches and she required no bracing afterwards. She was walking two days after the surgery and only had to stay in the hospital for a week. Now more than two months after her surgery, her X-rays continue to exhibit a normal shape and she no longer suffers from debilitating pain.

Source: International Hospital for Children