Mumbai
5 September 2018
DIVYA AZAD
Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition and major burden on society and individuals, where patient have to depend on others to attend to their basic needs. As per a study done on prevalence of Spinal cord injury (SCI), 23% cases were found to be among farmers, while 22% were laborers. Among the causes of injury, 53% patients sustained traumatic injuries due to fall from height and 28% suffered from road traffic accidents.
Dr Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine researcher says, “holistic protocol is required to treat such cases, which includes intensive rehabilitation programme wherein, physiotherapy exercises and neuromuscular stimulation are advised.”
Successful cases:
Case 1: 42-year-old farmer who underwent spine surgery after falling from 40 feet coconut tree, but didn’t show any improvement, recovers after cell based therapy.
Balkrishna Palkar, a farmer from Sindhudurg (Ratnagiri) suffered major injury in his spine and leg after falling from coconut tree. He underwent spine & leg fracture surgery in Goa. Despite being hospitalized for over a month, his condition didn’t improve. He could not sit or stand and was been bed-ridden ever since depending on others for all basic needs. Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine researcher at Mumbai said “Bal Krishna Palkar came to me in completely bedridden condition. Injuries may have affected the spinal cord or the roots of the spinal nerves, which pass through the spaces between the back bones (vertebrae) of the spine. Palkar underwent 3 sessions of cellular therapy. After therapy, Palkar now manages to sit comfortably without support and stands with the aid of leg splints and walker. Tremendous improvement has been noticed in his back and leg muscles. He does require support of walker, but can stand and walk by himself. This is major improvement in a short period of time considering he was bedridden, when he was first admitted”.
Post treatment Bal Krishna Palkar, said “I had no sensation in legs and back before being admitted here. I could only move my neck and hands. Whenever I would want to sit, my relatives would suspend a cloth from the ceiling for me to hold on to for support. Even then I could not sit comfortably. I had lost confidence but now after successful treatment here I am able to walk comfortably with full senses.
Case 2: Sylvanus was bed ridden for more than 6 months after a road traffic accident
A 19 year old male patient met with a road traffic accident while travelling on a bike. He sustained injuries in his spine and was hospitalized immediately. He did not undergo any surgery to repair the fracture/injury and the family was told that he will not be able to stand or walk in the future. He lost sensory perception in his hips and legs and as well as bowel and bladder control. When they consulted Dr. Pradeep Mahajan, Sylvanus was advised 2 sessions of cell based therapy along with neurorehabilitation. In order to remove the scar tissue that was formed in his spine in the region of injury, Sylvanus also underwent a spine surgery under a team of experienced orthopedic and spine surgeons. For the bed sores, he underwent treatment with Platelet Rich Plasma.Within a period of one month, it was noticed that the patient regained some sensory perception in his buttocks area. Following this, he was trained to stand with the help of calipers and walker. Although, he hasn’t regained bladder control yet, he is able to appreciate some sensation of bladder fullness etc.
Sylvanus said, “I was depressed after my accident as I was unable to stand or walk and lost perception in hips and legs. I am thankful to Dr. Pradeep Mahajan and his team, because after the treatment I am now able to stand and walk”.
