Surgical first for the UK

Salford Royal, recently became the first hospital in the UK to carry out an endoscope assisted lumbar fusion on local postal worker Claire.
Claire had been struggling with her movement and posture. This was due to the nerves on both sides of her spine being compressed. Following medical consultation, she was presented with the choice of having this innovative surgery and was happy to proceed with it.
The surgery, which took around 3 hours, was performed using a minimally invasive technique that involved a tiny incision allowing for minimal damage to the bony structures of the spine and the muscles around it.
In addition, using this technique means that the patient’s post operative pain is much less as compared to more traditional open surgery making recovery easier. In this case the patient was able to be safely sent home to recover just 6 hours after surgery.
Claire was in good spirits as she attended her post-operative assessment to see how she was doing after her surgery with her consultant neurosurgeon Ankur Saxena.
She said: “For me to be home in a day was wonderful. The recovery process is so much quicker, and I can’t fault the care I have received. Everything has been so smooth, and my confidence is getting better day by day.
“I think it’s a brilliant thing what the team has done and how many more people they can help because of this. I’m really chuffed to have been a part of it.”
Mr Saxena who was delighted to see Claire’s progress, said: “Claire’s phenomenal. She has made an amazing recovery and helped pave the way for others. She is independently mobile at home, and we hope her movement will continue to improve so she is more comfortable and able to return to her work as a postal officer.
“In addition to the benefits to patients, performing surgeries in this way has a massive impact in helping improve patient flow and has financial benefits to the organisation. If we can offer this as a day case to other patients the risk of cancellation is minimal, and we can free up beds for other patients to improve hospital efficiency.”