Welcome to my site, my name is Jess Indaja. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after struggling with my weight throughout my teen years and adulthood. My doctor informed me about all of the dangers associated with my diet and exercise habits. I was encouraged to change the way I ate and moved in an effort to reverse my blood sugar problem. I made the changes, but still struggle with controlling my blood sugar. After going through this trying situation, I decided to make a site that may help others with problems associated with type 2 diabetes. I will discuss diagnostic procedures, treatments and medical research concerning this disease. I hope you visit often and learn all you can to control your type 2 diabetes or help others with this condition.
Back surgeons often perform pain-relieving procedures that increase the quality of their patients' lives. With spina bifida, however, it is more about saving the patient's life rather than just increasing the quality of life. The surgical procedures for spina bifida are very delicate, dangerous and intricate. Depending on the gravity of the patient's spina bifida, the back surgeons may need to perform several complex surgeries all at once. They may also stretch the surgeries out to allow the patient time to heal. If you know somebody with this disabling and potentially lethal condition, and want to know more about the life-saving surgeries the surgeons do, the following information will help.
Protecting the Spinal Chord
Many patients with spina bifida have exposed spinal chords. It is the surgeon's job to first protect the spinal chord from harm until the operation, and then perform a more permanent solution to protect the spinal chord for life. This may involve closing the spinal chord's natural encasement, as well as building the patient's missing or malformed vertebrae from other bone pieces or medical grade plastic. If the patient is a child, this is just the first of many operations to protect the spinal chord and column and make adjustments.
Additional Surgeries
As the child grows and the bones get bigger, and the spinal column grows longer with the length of the back, the patient's surgeon will have to open the area up again and install more plastic, graft more bone into place and/or reposition any of the vertebrae or vertebral protection that has slipped out of alignment. The surgeon may also need to reassess how well the blood flows through and around the area affected by the spina bifida. Poor blood flow decreases healing and does not allow the patient's back to discharge any toxins away from this nerve-sensitive area.
Surgery When the Patient Is Very Young
If spina bifida is spotted on an ultrasound in utero, doctors may now be able to perform prenatal back surgery to seal up the baby's back before it is ever born. Since the infant is circulating a lot of embryonic stem cells in its blood, these stem cells are able to move to the baby's back and help the surgery heal. The progress of these prenatal spina bifida surgeries is tracked via ultrasound, to make sure the sutures stay in place and that the baby does not reopen the original spina bifida opening while it is still in the womb.
Contact a group like Southwest Florida Neurosurgical Associates for more information.
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