A mum of four from Bradford is able to walk again after surgeons at Leeds General Infirmary performed a rare operation on her spine.
Romana Vanova, 30, was suffering from numbness in her legs and balance problems caused by a thoracic disc pressing on her spinal cord.
She was unable to walk without sticks or a wheelchair and her condition was getting worse, but she was afraid to have surgery as there was a risk of paralysis.
Romana said: “I was really scared before the operation but I’m glad I went through with it. I’m feeling great. I’m in no pain. I’m like a brand-new person.
“I couldn’t walk, I was basically in a wheelchair to go out to the shops. It’s great what the doctor has done, it’s amazing.”
Romana, who has four children, aged 14, 13, nine and one, said: “It was a really hard decision but I’m glad I made it.
“I didn’t want my kids seeing me in a wheelchair and I didn’t want to make my husband’s life hard, having to look after me, because I’m really young, he’s young, the children are young.”
She was referred to Mr Deb Pal, consultant spinal surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, who suggested the surgery. “It was a significant cord compression, she was wobbly on her feet and struggling to walk,” he said. “She was getting worse and left alone, she would continue to get worse.
“She had a large calcified thoracic disc which we removed through a minimally invasive approach through a tube in the chest, without removing the ribs. This is one of the most challenging procedures in spinal surgery, carrying a high risk of paralysis – around 20%.
“Leeds is one of the few units in the country where we perform these operations in a minimally invasive way without rib removal– we do around two to three a year.
“The surgery went very well, and we removed the entire calcified disc. On day one she was sitting up, she said she could feel her legs for the first time in five months.”
Romana said: “I’m walking, I don’t need a stick any more. I couldn’t walk for five months, and Mr Pal has done such an amazing job, I think it’s magic. I’m really pleased I had the surgery done.
“I didn’t feel the ground for five months, and when I stood up and could feel the ground, I cried so much. I was really emotional and crying with happiness.”