Mr Arun Ranganathan 2020-05-28 Person 5 5 0

I was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis at around the age of 14, where I had 2 curves, one was 17 degrees and the other one was 36. At the time the doctors believed it would not get much worse therefore I carried on as normal. I felt that over the years the ongoing day to day aches and pains were worse, and I felt more discomfort with my ribs and shoulders. I therefore decided to get my spine looked at again. I came across Professor Arun Ranganathan when I watched Operation Live on channel 5. If you are thinking of having corrective spinal surgery, I found this incredibly helpful to watch, although obviously not for the weak stomached. Although I live in Birmingham now, I am originally from the outskirts of London, therefore getting the train to London to see professor Ranganathan was not an issue at all and was worth every second travelling there. After having X-Rays and MRI’s, I was able to sit down with Professor Ranganathan and discuss my options. As the curves in my back had got worse, the largest now being 50 degrees, we decided now at age 22, would be a good time to have corrective surgery, as I am still young enough to recovery reasonably quickly. I had my surgery on 10th March 2020 at the Princess Grace Hospital in Marylebone. I felt extremely comfortable going into this as Professor Ranganathan had gone through all concerns I had and discussed everything with me step by step. I went down to theatre at around 8:00am and woke up in the Intensive Care Unit at around 17:30pm. I stayed in ICU for 2 days, and the regular ward for a further 5 days. The pain the first 5 days was extremely hard, however there were lots of nurses / doctors/ physios who were there to support me along the way. Now 8 weeks post op, I have a lot more energy, where I can carry out the usual day to day tasks like walking my dog. My scar is healing extremely well, many people have commented on how neat it is, and have even asked if my doctor used a ruler to get it so straight! I would recommend Professor Ranganathan to anyone, not only is he obviously an incredibly talented doctor / surgeon, he is extremely humble and down to earth, and I’m yet to come across another doctor who happily replies to Whatsapp messages on the weekend, nothing is too much trouble for him! Thank you again for all your help, Holly.