A Patient in His 50s Hoping for Treatment to Return to Scuba Diving

A male patient in His 50s Hoping for Treatment to Return to Scuba Diving

Patient Information

Male, in his 50s

Disease/Symptoms

• Spinal Canal Stenosis
• Sciatica

Patient's Condition

The patient has worked as a professional diver for many years and has continued engaging in hobbies like windsurfing and kitesurfing. He currently runs a scuba diving business. Since around May of this year, he has been experiencing back pain and sciatic nerve issues, which has prevented him from diving. As he needs to be able to dive again before September, he decided to seek treatment at our clinic. This visit was also recommended by one of his own clients.

Imaging Examination

This is an MRI examination of the lower back. Due to years of pressure on the back, the spinal discs have worn down. The disc height has reduced by about 50%, and the spinal canal, which houses the nerves for the legs, has also narrowed. Therefore, the diagnosis is Spinal Canal Stenosis.

Treatment

Discseel® Treatment (Discseel® Procedure)

As it is currently July, there are only about 2 months left until the September target. Sometimes, it takes time for the effects of treatment to show, especially for repairing the sciatic nerve. If the sciatic nerve symptoms do not improve in 2 months, additional treatment with oral medication will be carried out alongside the Discseel Procedure.

The treatment was performed with only local anesthesia, without any sedatives. He said, "I am a man of the sea."

There was deformation in the spine, so it took about 6-7 minutes to insert the NST needle (for the procedure). Although it did not touch the nerves, I felt guilty because it took a considerable amount of time.

A discography examination of the spinal disc was performed. If the area does not appear black, it indicates mild disc damage, and treatments like PLDD (Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression) can be applied. However, in this video, there is a black area within the disc, indicating severe disc damage, requiring a treatment method like Discseel or DRT.

This time, we performed the Discseel Procedure. The treatment time was 23 minutes. The patient went home approximately 90 minutes after the treatment was completed.

Comment from the Clinic Director

Today's treatment was quite nerve-wracking because I was given the mission to restore the patient's condition so he can dive in 2 months. While I can't make any guarantees, we have performed the best treatment possible and hope the results will be satisfying.

Oh, by the way, yesterday was Tanabata, and our proud team, the Hanshin Tigers, won dramatically in the 9th inning. Although I feel a little guilty towards DeNA's player Watarai, it's a competition, so there’s nothing we can do about it. The weather these days has been very hot and humid, so I’m thinking of having Kimchi Nabe for dinner tonight.

Kimchi → Red → Hiroshima Carp (Central League Leader)