Hull Royal Infirmary to offer day case spinal surgery
The first procedures are to take place in the new year
Hull Royal Infirmary patients with spinal conditions will soon be able to benefit from a revolutionary form of keyhole surgery.
A major investment in a Mobile Imaging System (MIS) is to allow the hospital to offer Endoscopic Spine Surgery (ESS) to those with spinal disorders and degenerative spine conditions, including herniated discs, spinal stenosis and spinal infections.
ESS is a state-of-the-art surgical technique where a small probe and camera are used through a keyhole incision, with the minimally invasive procedure allowing patients to return home the same day.
Shuaibu Dambatta, Consultant in Neurosurgery at Hull Royal Infirmary who performs complex spinal surgeries, said: “Our patients should feel confident that they will benefit from latest surgical advances when they come to our hospitals.
“Instead of making large incisions, we can make much smaller cuts, less than the size of a finger, to operate on the spine so it’s a much better, safer and less traumatic experience for patients.
“As the cuts are so small, the surgery is far less invasive and safer for patients, who can have the surgery as a day case, with most able to go home that same day to begin their recovery.”
The equipment for the surgery was purchased by the NHS Humber Health Partnership.
The money for the special set and scope was donated to Hull Royal Infirmary by independent hospital charity WISHH and Ruth and Tony Knowles, who have been fundraising for the team since their daughter Emma-Jayne died of a brain tumour two weeks before her 23rd birthday in 1998.
The couple, of Sutton on Sea in Lincolnshire, were awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List in 2014 and although Mr Knowles died last year, his wife has continued to fundraise.
Ruth Knowles said: “Every year, I speak to the neurosurgical team and I ask them what equipment they might be looking to purchase that year, and what would benefit patients most. They come back with a list of equipment, we have a chat and then we look to make that happen.
“It’s always nice to be invited back to Hull Royal; it’s fantastic to see the equipment that’s been purchased and hear about what it can do, but it’s great just to see all the neurosurgical team too, they’re such a fantastic, dedicated group of people.
“We’ve been fundraising now for 27 years and in that time, we’ve raised a total of £176,081.50. Tony and I always said that fundraising won’t bring Emma-Jayne back, but what we can do is help the neurosurgical team to help other people.”
Sue Lockwood, WISHH Charity Chairperson, added: “The WISHH Charity welcomed the opportunity to support the Knowles family and the Neurosurgical Department to make this new minimally invasive procedure a reality in Hull.
“This is a procedure which will benefit many patients in the coming years, and it is only thanks to the support and generosity of local people that the WISHH Charity has the funds to support such initiatives.”
Alongside the new equipment, the NHS Humber Health Partnership, which runs Hull Royal, Castle Hill Hospital, Goole and District Hospital, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, has also been able to purchase a computer model of the spine.
This so-called UpSurgeOn Trainer is being used to train doctors in the new form of the surgery before it is performed on the first patients in the new year.
Consultant Neurosurgeon Chittoor Rajaraman said: “At a time when the NHS continues to face significant challenges — particularly from a financial perspective — WISHH and the Knowles family have gone above and beyond to help us secure this vital equipment.
“We are extremely grateful for their contribution.”