Ethiopian patient with Kyphoscoliosis (Anaconda Spine), treated successfully at SIMS Hospital

Chennai, July 2022: An expert group of surgeons from SIMS Hospital, a leading multispecialty hospital in the city, recently conducted a high-performance surgery to cure a severe case of Kyphoscoliosis. The 15 year old Ethiopian patient – Master Tesfaye Mengesha Mersha was diagnosed with severe Kyphoscoliosis, which in a spine surgery circle called ‘Anaconda Spine’, a 110 deformity of the upper spine in the chest area. Living with a dream of playing football, the spine deformity severely affected Mersha’s ability to walk coming in the way of his dream. The surgery was conducted by Dr. K Appaji Krishnan, Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon, Asian Orthopaedic Institute, SIMS Hospital with a panel of doctors & Nursing staff.

Mersha is suffering from Neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition which causes deformity in the spine. Mersha was a normal boy till 6 years ago, when his parents started noticing a deformity in the upper back. The deformity has progressed to this severity over time. He was brought to SIMS Hospital in the month of May with a unique condition of Kyphoscoliosis- a 110 degrees curve in the spine shaped like an Anaconda. The curved spine was obstructing the expansion of the lungs and making a back pressure to the heart. Recognising the severity of the condition, the team immediately developed a specific treatment protocol. It was decided to treat Mersha with a halo gravity traction by hanging 13-14kg of weight to the patients head for a continual 4 weeks time period to stretch the Anaconda Spine and straighten the deformity.

Post the treatment, a high-performance surgery was performed in assistance from the well trained Anesthesia team and an in-house Intraoperative Neuromonitoring expert. The procedure was facilitated by a pre-operative model of the spine which was prepared by in-house 3D printing technology.

Commenting on the surgery, Dr. K Appaji Krishnan, Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon, Asian Orthopaedic Institute, SIMS Hospital said, “Mersha was diagnosed with this rare condition of severe kyphoscoliosis or Anaconda Spine which had progressed over a period of 6 years. Depending on the severity of the deformity his surgery to straighten the spine was done after careful observation and traction for 4 weeks. The disease which could cause heart and lung failure, was successfully treated and the patient is all better and in a good condition now. We are truly happy to have played a role in making his dream of playing football”.

Adding this, Dr. Raju Sivasamy, Vice President – Medical & Senior Consultant said “I would like to congratulate our team of Doctors for conducting this successful surgery. SIMS has been leading the way in patient care and we are elated to have played an important role in one more young patients’ aspiration. We are overwhelmed with joy to watch Mersha go back to his country and lead a healthy, fulfilling life.”

“I am extremely excited to go back to normalcy and live a better life from now. With this surgery I can work towards achieving my dream of playing football. I am grateful to Dr. K Appaji Krishnan and the whole team at SIMS, who helped me through the treatment. I would like to thank Dr. Appaji Krishnan and the highly qualified team at SIMS Hospital for their strength and support during the tough times,” said patient Master Tesfaye Mengesha Mersha.

The Institute of Orthopaedics at SIMS Hospital is also known as AOI (Asian Orthopaedic Institute). It is a centre of international repute for complex Bone and Joint related conditions. The institute is operated by a team of outstanding Orthopaedic surgeons in Chennai, who have specialized interest in joint replacement, trauma (fracture) surgery, sports medicine and arthroscopy treatment and spine surgery.