Another Breakthrough Surgery by a Lebanese Makes the News in Canada!

For the first time in Canada, a dramatic change in managing pain.

This is not just a surgery of a mild health disorder. This doctor from the Lebanese coastal city of Batroun has actually released a patient from his daily 8-year pain due to a chronic condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). For the first time ever, in Canada, a patient with CRPS is cured, and the breakthrough has made the news.

CRPS is a chronic condition that affects a limb usually after a heart attack, an injury or a stroke. It is a condition that increases the sensitivity to temperature and leads to joint stiffness, swelling, muscle spasms, and other symptoms due to the affection of the nervous and circulatory systems.

Dr. Antonios El Helou, son of George El-Helou of Batroun, is a Neurosurgeon based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. He is specialized in Functional Neurosurgery, Movement disorders, Epilepsy and Pain.

This past Monday, he performed surgery on a patient suffering from that complex disease for many years at The Moncton hospital in Canada. The surgery was performed by implanting a neuromodulation system featuring electric wires at the bottom of the patient’s spinal cord.

These wires are supposed to carry an electric current to stimulate the nerves, leading to a decrease in pain. This operation is a weeklong trial; if it works then a permanent simulator will be inserted instead. According to Dr. Helou, for the first time in 8 years, the patient was able to sleep without pain.

In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Dr. El-Helou stated that this was the first time this surgery was done in Canada as it was only recently approved, even though it has been known in Europe for the past 7 years.
“I already have other patients ready to receive this treatment. I am pleased to be able to present this new type of neuromodulation therapy to Horizon and to my patients. It dramatically changes the way we manage pain, especially in the era of an opioid crisis,” said Dr. Helou.

The961