19th August 020

Saint Lucia’s Dr. Curby Sydney performs cutting edge spine surgery, the first in the OECS

PRESS RELEASE

Dr. Curby Dwaine Sydney, a Saint Lucian neurosurgeon and a son of the soil as he refers to himself, has set the pace for major brain and spine surgery within  the OECS, having performed the first minimally invasive, 2 level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, using the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zero Profile Vault C implant Construct.

Dr. Sydney recalls his patient, Mrs. Constance Soomer, a warm and charming middle-aged lady, visiting his clinic on a wheelchair with significant weakness to her arms and legs. “After a detailed examination of the brain, spine and nerves, it was obvious to me that the issue resided in the neck, the Cervical Spine” remarked Sydney. “I recommended for an MRI scan to be done urgently, which confirmed my initial diagnosis of the large herniated disks severely compressing the spinal cord, the main nerve that connects the brain to the rest of the body,” Sydney continued.

During her visit, Mrs. Soomer lamented that her condition resulted in her inability to cook, sign a check, do her gardening, and walk freely like she had been used to. “I was worried and feared being paralyzed,” she said.

The patient was happy to know that there was a solution to her problem, especially with the chance to walk again, but her doctor needed to act quickly. “One can well imagine that if there is any injury to the main nerve that connects the brain to the body, nothing below that level will function properly to the point of paralysis and even death,” explained Dr. Sydney.

He further explained that after proper diagnosis and meticulous planning with his team, the surgical procedure was performed. A small incision was made to the front of the neck, carefully dissecting the muscles from the trachea (windpipe), esophagus (feeding tube), and the major blood vessels that connect the brain to the heart. Then, using highly specialized retractors, drills bits, micro dissectors, and forceps, he was able to safely remove the slipped discs and replace them with specialized implants. This complex procedure was possible as a result of Cana Neuro Services’ significant investment in state-of-the-art surgical equipment, placing the company’s services in Saint Lucia on par with developed countries. The company currently has the only Neurosurgical Microscope – a microscope specially designed for brain and spine surgeries – in Saint Lucia and the OECS. This microscope allows for a surgeon to safely navigate with great precision, through delicate nerves and tiny blood vessels that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

This unique and revolutionary procedure of replacing the herniated discs with specialized implants is designed to limit the risk of damage to the surrounding blood vessels and adjacent tissue. Mr. Geoffrey Camps-Roach, managing director of Medical Visions Ltd., a leading spine implant supplier in the Caribbean recalled, “I got a call from Dr. Sydney concerning his patient and we discussed and planned the procedure with our counterparts in the USA. Nothing prepared me for the level of care and professionalism I witnessed given to his patient during my visit to Saint Lucia. The preparation for surgery and the aftercare, could not have gone better, and the patient received the same level of care one would receive in any developed country.”

Mr. Roach Camps also expressed that “Cana Neuro Services feels like a big family, whose main focus is the care for their patients, and Saint Lucia should be proud to have such a service available on the island, providing world-class, Neurosurgery care for its citizens.

Mrs. Soomer is once again able to enjoy the things she did before this life-changing surgery, like cooking, gardening, singing with her Church Choir, and even traveling on vacation with her family.  She has expressed profound gratitude to Dr. Sydney and his team for her remarkable recovery and “getting her life back”.

[wpedon id=31190]

[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]

TO RECEIVE NEWS NOTIFICATIONS VIA WHATS APP PLEASE SAVE OUR NUMBER AND SEND US A MESSAGE AT 7584896261 AND WE WILL ADD YOU TO OUR LIST