Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
A surgical team at the University Medical City successfully performed a precise and complex surgery to remove a spinal cord tumor from a 26-year-old beneficiary. She was suffering from severe weakness in her lower extremities accompanied by sensory disturbances, after her condition was diagnosed with a tumor compressing the spinal cord at the level of the tenth thoracic vertebra (T10).
The necessary clinical and radiological examinations were performed immediately upon her admission, which confirmed the presence of a tumor inside the spinal cord causing direct pressure on the nervous tissue. This necessitated urgent surgical intervention to avoid neurological deterioration that could lead to loss of motor function or paralysis.
The medical team, led by Dr. Abdullah Faisal Al-Khamees, a consultant neurosurgeon, and Dr. Rasha Zeidan, a consultant anesthesiologist, successfully performed the surgery using a surgical microscope and precision techniques. They also utilized Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM), a modern and advanced technique that helps monitor nerve functions in real-time and reduce the likelihood of neurological complications during the procedure.
The procedure included a delicate surgical opening of the spine and removal of a portion of bone to access the spinal cord, followed by the careful removal of the tumor while preserving the integrity of the surrounding nervous tissue, given the sensitivity of the area and the precision of the intervention.
This is a delicate and high-risk procedure due to the tumor's direct connection to the spinal cord. The surgery was successful – praise be to God. The beneficiary witnessed an improvement and stabilization in her health condition and was discharged home on the third day after surgery.
This achievement represents a qualitative step in the development of neurosurgery services at the Medical City of Qassim University, as this is the first time this type of delicate surgery has been performed within the Medical City, reflecting the continuous development in medical and specialized capabilities.
