Indian expat saved from life-long paralysis after severe neck injury

• Sustaining a fall from great height, the 29-year-old construction worker’s neck bone was severely crushed with fragments compressing his spinal cord
• The patient was rushed to RAK Hospital where urgent high-risk surgery was performed on him 

July 4, 2019; Ras Al Khaimah, UAE:  A 29-year-old construction worker was brought back from the brink of life-long paralysis at RAK Hospital when he suffered a dangerous fall from a construction site where he worked. Ajeet Ram Sudhar, an Indian expat who works for RAK ceramics, fell from about 10 feet, the impact severely crushing his neck bone. He was rushed to RAK Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah where doctors found that the patient's neck bone was not just badly crushed but the fragments were compressing his spinal cord. 

The case called for urgent surgical interventions, and the patient was immediately taken into OR where he was operated by Dr Tinku Jose Kurisinkal, Consultant Neurosurgeon, RAK Hospital, and his team. 

“Our first priority was to stabilise the neck which we did with a Philadelphia collar, which gave the neck rigid support from the back and front. Besides that, he was given other medication as well,” explained Dr Kurisinkal, “There were two major challenges that we were facing when we went in for surgery. Firstly, the fall had completely destroyed the cervical vertebra into multiple pieces which had to be removed without injuring the spinal cord. So the first part of the surgery was to carefully remove all the crushed bone fragments with the help of a microscope, besides a few extruded disc fragments as well.”

The second biggest challenge for the surgical team was while intubating the patient (giving anaesthesia), since even slight movement of the neck could result in paralysis. This too was done successfully.

“After removing the fragments, we filled the gap with an expandable cage, which was supported by special titanium plates on both ends of the cage. In order to give the spine more stability, we also fixed the cage to normal vertebrae, both above and below” added Dr Kurisinkal. 

In all, the surgery was completed in 6 to 7 hours while the patient was taken off anaesthesia just half an hour post-surgery. Experiencing quick recovery, he was able to return home in a week’s time after the operation with no pain and weakness. In order to provide support to the neck as it heals completely, the patient was told to wear a collar for the next two months. 

Commenting on the surgery, Dr Raza Siddiqui, Executive Director at RAK Hospital congratulated the patient on his close escape from paralysis and the quick recovery, “The surgery indeed gave Mr Sudhar a second chance to live his life normally. In this regard, I would like to laud the RAK Hospital surgical team as well for doing such a superb job. I can confidently claim that when it comes to tackling hi-risk emergency cases, RAK Hospital is now a trusted name in the UAE’s healthcare community”.

Back on his job, the patient Ajeet Ram Sudhar also thanked RAK Hospital for their quick action and surgical expertise that has helped him to get back on his feet independently.