British patient’s pain eased in Turkey

The persistent pain experienced by a 59-year-old British patient, whose left arm was amputated (cut off) after a traffic accident in England, has been significantly reduced thanks to the “spinal cord pain pacemaker” treatment applied with the open method at Eskişehir City Hospital.

Roofer Andrew Waddington, a father of two living in Yorkshire, England, had his left arm amputated after a motorcycle accident 20 years ago.

After the operation, Waddington began to experience persistent and recurring pain in the shoulder area. A nerve was taken from his leg and applied to his neck at the health institution he applied to in his country. Waddington, whose pain did not go away, later underwent two closed-method “spinal cord pain pacemaker” treatments.

Despite his treatments, Waddington, whose pain did not subside, reached out to Eskişehir City Hospital, which can apply the “spinal cord pain pacemaker” treatment with the open method, through the health platform and received information from Brain and Nerve Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Mehmet Beşir Sürme.

The patient, who came to Turkey, had a “paddle electrode” surgically placed in the spinal cord after the bone was removed from the patient’s neck in an open surgery operation that lasted approximately 3 hours. Waddington’s pain was significantly reduced after the intervention, which was reported to be more effective than the closed method.

Chief Physician Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Sungur visited Waddington, who has been receiving treatment at the Brain and Nerve Surgery Service for 5 days and is expected to be discharged soon.

Andrew Waddington told reporters that after speaking with Opr. Dr. Sürme, there were no more questions left in his mind.

Stating that he found the hospital’s facilities quite good, Waddington said, “Everything is better than I expected. Mr. Sürme and I talked about the fact that I would need a 3-month period to see the difference between before and after my surgery, but I have high expectations that I will be better. I feel good.”

“The electrode works to block abnormal pain transmitted from the patient’s arm”

Chief Physician Sungur also emphasized that Waddington’s treatment at hospitals is a good example of health tourism carried out with the contributions of the Ministry of Health.

Expressing that their hospital is the only authorized health institution of International Health Services Inc. (USHAŞ) in the city, Sungur said, “USHAŞ is an institution of the Ministry of Health established to organize health tourism. In our interview with the patient, he told us that the fees are half the price compared to England. In terms of service quality, we are at levels comparable to European countries, but in terms of price, we are much more economical. This makes us preferable.”

Explaining that they provide health tourism services in all branches, Sungur emphasized that their hospitals provide such treatments under suitable conditions compared to both private hospitals and other countries.

Op. Dr. Mehmet Beşir Sürme also stated that the patient had been experiencing phantom pains, called “phantom” pain, in the same area for 20 years after losing his arm.

Sürme, who explained that Waddington applied to them after he could not find a solution to his persistent pain with medication, interventional procedures and surgeries, and that they invited him to the hospital after video calls, gave the following information:

“We performed a pain pacemaker application that is attached to the neck. In this treatment, we place an electrode in the patient’s neck area. This electrode works in a way that prevents abnormal pain transmitted from the patient’s arm. After the 3-hour surgery, we made various programs for the patient’s pain pacemaker remote control. We made programs to cover that area by looking at whether or not he felt electrical stimulation in the painful area. As a result, the patient declared that he felt the stimulation in the place and form we wanted. In the imaging we conducted after the surgery, we saw that both the pacemaker and the electrode were in place. This is important to us. He had previously had a pain pacemaker inserted in England, but he did not feel any electrical stimulation in his body. The patient had constant and episodic pain. We saw a significant decrease in his pain with this treatment.”