The first surgery in Vietnam to implant artificial spinal discs in a patient suffering from degenerated, herniated spinal discs, was successfully performed at Viet Duc Hospital on January 7.
The 49-year-old patient, Pham Thi Huy, from southern Dong Nai province's Bien Hoa City, can now move her arm for the first time in five years.
She is expected to recover a full range of motion within three weeks.
This surgery is the most modern method to treat patients with degenerated discs so that they can move normally without pain, said Associate Professor Nguyen Van Thach, deputy director of Viet Duc Hospital and head of the Spinal Surgery Department.
"Before this surgery, I tried a number of treatments, however, I still could not move without help from my children. Everything was difficult for me," said Huy.
"Spinal discs act as cushions between vertebrae of the spine. When they are herniated or degenerate [tear or break] patients can suffer chronic pain in the neck, waist, and even paralysed limbs," explained Doctor Pham Van Dinh.
About 30% of people, mostly middle-aged, in Vietnam suffer from herniated or degenerated discs, according to Dr Thach.
"The new surgery is much better than the old method, in which doctors would screw vertebrae into place to prevent movement of the backbone, though it is not a cure-all for patients with severely herniated vertebrae," he explained.
"The artificial discs are made from a special type of cushioning plastic, performs the same function as the real discs and will last 15-20 years," said Thach.
"The global successful rate for disc replacement surgery is 90%," he added.
The cost for surgery at Viet Duc Hospital is US$3,600 per disc, much lower than in Singapore where it costs US$6,000 to replace a single disc.
While surgery may be less expensive in Vietnam, it is still more than many labourers, suffering bad backs from years of heavy lifting, can afford.
"People can decrease the risk of damaging their backs by learning how to correctly distribute weight when sitting and carrying heavy loads," said Dinh.
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