tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35830550553159699902023-11-15T06:23:06.177-08:00Minimally Invasive "Keyhole" Surgery for Back PainMinimally invasive spine surgery for back pain in Singaporefong shee yanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227949536551709524noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3583055055315969990.post-80164442894514417012015-03-17T21:50:00.002-07:002015-03-17T21:50:42.759-07:00Spine Consultation<b>I have resigned from Dr Kevin Yip's Singapore Sports & Orthopaedic Clinic and will return to Mt Alvernia Hospital to practise. Please do contact me at 96505947 if I can be of any assistance to you. Thank You. Dr Fong Shee Yan (Spine Consultant)</b>fong shee yanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227949536551709524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3583055055315969990.post-33839072268515786362008-11-01T01:40:00.000-07:002009-01-05T05:52:22.059-08:00Minimally Invasive Back Pain Treatment in Singapore<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tIL7sRnmjX4/SQwaPNw3VoI/AAAAAAAAHJk/oevyJ6BPJgk/s1600-h/C9384251.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tIL7sRnmjX4/SQwaPNw3VoI/AAAAAAAAHJk/oevyJ6BPJgk/s200/C9384251.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263610913184241282" /></a><br /><strong>Dr Fong Shee Yan, Consultant, Orthopaedic Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and his patient interviewed :</strong><br /><br /><strong>"Ouch, my back! Back to biking after surgery !"</strong><br />By June Cheong<br /><br />Nearly a year after his surgery, Mr Hong is mountain biking, running regularly and training for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in December. <br />-- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW<br /><br />Shooting pain in the right leg and debilitating back pain do not afflict Mr Hong Khai Hwa anymore - thanks to spinal surgery he underwent.<br /><br />Mr Hong, 38, a service manager in the semi-conductor industry, said: 'It has given me a new lease of life.'<br /><br />Last November at <strong>Tan Tock Seng Hospital</strong>, he had percutaneous nucleoplasty, a <strong>minimally invasive spinal surgery </strong>which removes tissue from a damaged disc to decompress the disc and relieve the pressure it exerted on nearby nerves.<br /><br />Within a month of the $11,000 operation, he was walking normally again. The biking enthusiast was soon back on his mountain bicycle.<br /><br />Mr Hong, who is married without children, said: 'My doctor, <br /><strong>Dr Fong Shee Yan</strong>, said I can do whatever I want but I must be careful.'<br /><br />To that end, Mr Hong makes sure he does 15 minutes of core strengthening exercises at least four times a week to build up his back muscles. He learnt those exercises while on a three-month post-surgery programme which teaches patients how to take care of and strengthen their backs.<br /><br />Ironically, it was mountain biking - as well as a host of other sporting activities - that landed Mr Hong with a bad back.<br /><br />He developed lower back pain in 1999 because of the accumulated stress in his back from 'national service and doing a lot of sports'.<br /><br />He said: 'When it began, I felt the pain every morning when I woke up. I needed to sit up in bed for a bit and let my back muscles relax before I could get up to brush my teeth.'<br /><br />He had to stop running, mountain biking and playing tennis.<br />In 2000, he sought medical help and underwent conservative treatments like physiotherapy and heat treatment.<br /><br />However, he still suffered relapses and episodes of acute back pain almost every year and would be bedridden for at least a week each time.<br /><br />He said: 'The episodes were usually triggered after I did a vigorous sport or carried heavy stuff. Once, I sneezed and that tore my back muscle.'<br /><br />That incident landed Mr Hong in hospital for a week and he had to work from home for two months after his discharge.<br /><br />Besides back pain, he had also been suffering shooting pain in his right leg for more than six years.<br /><br />Last year, an aunt, who works in Mount Elizabeth Hospital, came across an article on minimally invasive back surgery. Mr Hong jumped at the chance to regain a pain-free back.<br /><br />Nearly a year after his surgery, he is mountain biking, running regularly and training for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in December.<br /><br /><strong>He said: 'I'm almost back to normal. I'm back to mountain biking every weekend.'</strong>fong shee yanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16227949536551709524noreply@blogger.com