Spine surgery for elderly not death sentence – Expert

Spine surgery for elderly not death sentence – Expert
By Olasunkanmi Onifade
Surgery
Abuja, May 7, 2018 (NAN) A Consultant Neurosurgeon at an Abuja based hospital, Dr Biodun Ogungbo, says age is no barrier to surgery in the elderly and not a death sentence.
Ogungbo said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.
“If the surgery can be done safely and if the benefits outweigh the risks, then, no problem. Of course, no one can guarantee 100 per cent success but the majority will benefit and have a new future.
“Some doctors still believe that spine surgery is a death sentence. But, this is not true, at least not in Abuja.
“The operations have been performed safely on the neck and back for many patients with a good outcome in the majority,” he said.
Ogungbo said there was cooperation among hospitals, while many surgeons in the industry had pledged to maintain and improve on the successes of managing the elderly.
He said the poor results of the past are still clouding the present and jeopardising the future, saying many patients are not offered surgery and instead are taken to the villages for unorthodox medicine or to churches for prayers.
“Some are left at home in pain until death eventually comes. Before death though, someone has to look after mama or papa, and someone may have to leave employment to stay home with them.
“Elderly patients suffering from arthritis of the spine should not be left in pains and misery.
“Something should be done when an older person starts crying in the mornings and praying for early death on dark nights,’’ Ogungbo said.
He said arthritis causes wearing out of the bones and pressure on the nerves and spinal cord.
Ogungbo said the destruction of the bone causes instability which may require operation to reinforce the bones, adding that the pressure on the nerves may require operation to free the nerves and release the pressure.
He said surgery requires firm diagnosis, clear evaluation of the physical status of the patient, assessment of the fitness for surgery, a clear surgical plan, honest, balance of the benefits and risks of surgery as well as effective post-operative support by spine-trained physiotherapists.
Ogungbo however said surgery on the spine was safe if performed by experienced surgeons and with adequate expert support from nurses and physiotherapists. (NAN)
OEO/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola