A coronary intervention was performed after a 6 hour Semi-urgent Laminectomy (Spinal Cord Decompression surgery) at City International Hospital to save a 72 year-old former lawyer with spinal cord compression (SCC) and multiple comorbidities

Weeks ago, A vascular intervention were performed after a 6 hour Semi-urgent Laminectomy (Spinal Cord Decompression surgery) at City International Hospital‘s surgeons to save a 72 year-old former lawyer with spinal cord compression (SCC) and multiple comorbidities including: hypertension, diabetes, Hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and discontinuous interval therapy in the treatment of coronary artery disease. The man finally got A Narrow Escape from Paralysis thanks to the keen diagnostic eye of his care physicians and the skill of his neurosurgeons. Today he’s back home with his family and simply living his life — an outcome he characterizes as a miracle.

October 15, 2018, A 72-year-old former lawyer Dr. P.D.T presented at City International Hospital with sudden muscle weakness and pains with rapidly progressing paraplegia which required urgent attention. After admission, he could barely walk; “I couldn’t feel my feet. I was already getting paralyzed from the waist down” he complained about numbness in his extremities and his spastic quadriplegia putting him in jeopardy of either limb or life. CIH Emergency physicians valued a range of physical examinations showing his loss of muscle strength, Piriformis Syndrome, and increased muscle stretch reflexes (hyperreflexia) noted during clinical examination. The cervical spine MRI revealed severe spinal cord compression due to severe narrowing of the cervical vertebral canal at the C3/4, C4/5, and C5/6. At the onset of paralytic symptoms, an immediate operation was highly recommended by  Dr. Huynh Hong Chau, Head of Neuro-surgery department at City International Hospital to stabilize the spine and prevent additional damage and the progression of paralysis and acute respiratory failure due to cystic lesions on the C5 if accidentally a mild neck trauma occurred.


Patient's MRI scan of the spine

The patient is now at the age of 72 suffering from Multiple Chronic Conditions. After performing a full range of preoperative medical tests, including blood tests and Cardiac Diagnostic Tests, Specialists team at CIH called up a meeting Discussion include: neurosurgery, anesthesia, cardiovascular intervention and active recovery before surgery. Conclusions from the diagnostic meeting identified patients over 65 years of age, medical history included hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and Discontinuous interval therapy in the treatment of coronary artery disease, so patients in the high risk group of variables cardiovascular events such as acute myocardial infarction, and other rapid processing life-threatening events during and after surgery. After carefully explained all risks of Surgery and Anesthesia to the patient and his family, one option has been proposed to widen a narrowed artery or re-open a totally blocked artery by Coronary intervention surgery. However, this patient also has been suffering from Multiple Chronic Conditions, especially a severe coronary artery disease which needed a percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation. That means his surgical decompression in the setting of spinal cord injury (SCI) should be delayed for at least a period of 2 weeks after coronary artery bypass surgery. Facing the risk of quadriplegia and sudden death due to acute respiratory failure, both patient and family agreed on undergoing Spinal Core Surgical Decompression.

During discussion with his family, the patient wife, Lawyer T. T. said that her husband got herniated disc 6 years ago and was also recommended to undergo surgery to avoid complications. However, because many patients have other diseases, especially coronary heart disease should worry if the surgery will be life-threatening. Up until two weeks ago when we saw his profound weakness, notably dysfunction of his upper and lower extremities, we decided to take him to the hospital.

October 15, 2018, Dr. P.D.T. underwent a surgical decompression performed by a team of CIH experienced-neurosurgeons. The team performed what’s called an anterior cervical discectomy and instrumented fusion on Dr. P.D.T. This is a form of surgical decompression that enables the offending discs to be surgically removed. At the same time, he performed fusion surgery to stabilize the segment of the cervical spine where the discs were removed. “We monitored the electrical activity of her upper and lower extremities throughout the operation to ensure that her spinal cord function remained intact,” noted the surgeon. A surgical microscope also provided exceptionally precise visualization for this delicate operation. The anterior approach means that the surgery is done through the front of the neck, which generally provides better access to the spine. The patient also tended to have less incisional pain from this approach than from a posterior (back of the neck) operation. The operation took about six hours.

“The procedure went extremely well,” the team said. Almost immediately afterward he had remarkable improvement in his symptoms; he was able to slightly move his arms and legs with muscle strength and control. We were quite satisfied that the outcome was what we hoped for and expected.” Even though resulted with an onset carefully systematic review resulted in improved outcomes and preoperative examinations after SCI decompression surgery,  the patient was still closely monitored. As a result of his clinical status, electricity cardiac and echocardiographic values, the patient was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation within the first 20 hours post-operatively.


Patient visit by CIH Board of Directors

Another huge challenge for CIH’s experts right after their successful decompression surgery, a rapid progress of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accompanied by severe heart failure, or pulmonary edema, hemodynamic depletion and severe arrhythmias that was life threatening and requires urgent treatment. After clinical data, “The Angiosuite”- Heart, Brain and Vascular Institute physicians at City International Hospital decided to proceed with coronary intervention to save the patient's life.

Postoperative myocardial infarction (MI) after noncardiac surgery is one of the most serious and prognostically ominous complications of surgery and anesthesia. Coronary angiography revealed a nearly complete coronary artery occlusion. After undergoing a successful coronary angiography. the patient gradually improved symptoms, hemodynamic and cardiac arrhythmia gradually decreases with better heart muscle contraction. 


Patient visit by Dr. John Lucas –CEO and A/Prof. Nguyen Tan Cuong, CIH Medical Director

Paying close attention and treatment, physicians routinely control hematuria in the surgical area due to the use of anticoagulants and platelet aggregation inhibitors during and after angiography and after cardiac arrest. Patients gradually improved symptoms, hemodynamics and heart rate stability, testing cardiac indexes, liver and kidney function, normal blood glucose levels, patients refreshed, lobby movement improved much , eat better. October 30, 2018, the Board of Directors of International City Hospital and the team of doctors have visited and expressed congratulations to patient in his healthy state and later being discharged in the joy of the family.

 Patient P.D.T. expressed with much emotion: “My deep appreciation to City International Hospital’s Board of directors and dedicated team of doctors and nurses for all of your prompt treatments and care for me with the most advanced lifesaving. I have been very blessed and fortunate. It’s a miracle, and I’m still wrapping my head around the seriousness of it all. Persistence of CIH healthcare team and they were catching it in time…they saved my life as far as what it would have been like otherwise. I will rave about these doctors for the rest of my life.”

Patient P.D.T and family on the day of  discharge 

"I and my family are extremely grateful to the Department of Neurology, Cardiology, Intensive care unit and the entire staff of City International Hospital," said Lawyer T.T.H’s wife the she continued, “My family and I are deeply impressed by the talents, the technical facilities, the enthusiasm from each and every one working at City International Hospital Best wishes to CIH and the future rapid growth of CIH for protecting health, quality of life and life for the community.

For appointment or more information about City International Hospital, please contact:

? Address: No.3, 17A street, Binh Tri Dong B Ward, Binh Tan Dictrict (Next to Aeon Mall Binh Tan,) HCM City.

? Operator: (028) 6280 3333 (ext. 0)

? Website: www.cih.com/en.