Man paralyzed overnight, doctor warns of 'silent killer'

Mr. Qi felt a dull pain in his chest and back, but he thought it was just a common backache and ignored it. One day, he discovered that his legs were paralyzed and he could not stand up.

"Doctor, can I still stand up?" - That was what a 53-year-old man surnamed Qi asked his doctor after receiving his test results at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional and Western Medicine (China).

Sudden paralysis in the morning

Four months ago, Mr. Qi began to feel a dull pain in his chest and back, but he thought it was just a common backache and ignored it. A week ago, when he woke up in the morning, he suddenly found that his legs had lost all feeling, his lower back was in severe pain, and he was completely unable to stand up.

Although the male patient had visited many hospitals for examination, the exact cause was still not found. After being transferred to the Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, the team of doctors from the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology relied on imaging characteristics and performed a thoracic vertebral puncture biopsy, quickly determining that he had tuberculosis of the thoracic spine.

In-depth tests showed that tuberculosis had destroyed the vertebral bodies, compressed the spinal cord, leading to acute paralysis.

The doctor performed surgery on Mr. Te. Photo: Sohu

Post-operative recovery

Faced with Mr. Te's condition of both spinal structure destruction and infection, Dr. Trinh Ky's team - Head of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology - performed surgery to help the patient control the infection and restore neurological function.

On the 6th day after surgery, Mr. Qi's legs began to have voluntary contractions. The muscle strength in both legs recovered from level 0 (complete loss of movement) to level 2 (able to move the legs on the bed). On the 10th day, the muscle strength continued to increase to level 3 (able to lift the legs 2-3cm off the bed). Currently, his motor function continues to improve.

Dr. Trinh emphasized: "Early diagnosis and early surgical intervention are very important for the prognosis of patients with spinal tuberculosis. If neurological function gradually recovers and combined with the use of assistive devices, Mr. Te will be completely able to walk again."

Dr. Trinh especially warns that early-stage spinal tuberculosis can easily be mistaken for back pain or herniated disc. If back pain lasts for more than a month, accompanied by a low-grade fever in the afternoon, night sweats, weight loss, numbness or weakness in the limbs that worsens, early testing is needed to detect tuberculosis infection. If treatment is delayed, the disease can cause permanent paralysis or even spread throughout the body, endangering life.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/nguoi-dan-ong-bi-liet-chi-sau-mot-dem-bac-si-canh-bao-sat-thu-tham-lang-172250327223840935.htm