Mr Arun Ranganathan

Mr Arun Ranganathan 2020-07-08 Person 5 5 0

I am a 29 year old dentist who started experiencing sciatica pain in March 2020. I saw my GP who initially prescribed painkillers and muscle relaxants. However over a couple of weeks, the pain became more intense and excruciating on my left leg. This resulted in a lack of movement and I was unable to put weight on my leg for periods longer than a few minutes. As I had difficulty walking and bearing weight on the leg, this caused growing weakness and numbness in my left leg. An MRI indicated L5S1 prolapsed disc. I was referred to see Professor Ranganathan who advised a non invasive treatment plan. He was very articulate in explaining in his methodology of choosing this approach and the different stages of our treatment plan. Also, he was very reassuring when questions were asked. As I had no history of chronic back pain, we proceeded with a steroid injection in April 2020. However due to the nature of my prolapsed disc, the injection was unsuccessful. In June 2020, he performed a minimally invasive surgery (discectomy and decompression surgery) on my back. After months of pain (prolonged due to COVID-19 pandemic), I was out of pain immediately after the surgery. This was a huge relief to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now 5weeks post surgery, I am pain free with some numbness and leg weakness (which were present before the surgery due to the prolapsed disc pressing on my spinal nerve) and I am aware this may take months to strengthen and heal. The surgery has been successful and I am gaining my independence back again which is amazing. Professor Ranganathan is a very professional doctor who listens to the concerns of his individual. My treatment plan was tailored to my needs. I appreciated his approach of a non invasive treatment plan, as this would allow me to avoid major spinal surgery with months of recovery and rehabilitation. In addition, I presented during a difficult time (during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic), however, Professor Ranganathan and his team made sure that I was seen as quickly and safely as possible. I can not thank them enough for their expertise and guidance during this difficult time. I felt incredibly safe in Professor Ranganthan’s hands and I have complete trust in his skills. I would have no reservation in referring any of my family or friends.

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.

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

Professor Ranganathan was recommended to me by a chiropractor that I had been visiting for a couple of months and from the beginning I felt incredibly safe and that I could trust him entirely as I adjusted to the realisation that I might need an emergency operation on my back. On Thursday March 19th he performed a discectomy and decompression surgery on my L5S1 disc which had herniated badly about 2 weeks earlier, leaving me in excruciating pain with growing weakness and numbness in my right leg. I had been having painful back and increasing sciatica trouble for approximately one year after I had hurt myself during a yoga practice at home. I’ve been practising yoga for nearly 20 years and had never injured myself before. I think a mixture of having overdone things for some time plus a stressful period in life during that time brought on the initial injury and unfortunately it evolved rather than healed resulting in the eventual need for surgery. It’s been 6 weeks since the operation and whist my nerve damage and leg weakness still needs time to heal and strengthen the excruciating pain I was in has gone and there is every indication that the surgery was successful. I am so thankful that I found Mr Ranganathan, he clearly has immense skill and expertise and his team Is wonderful and hugely kind and reassuring too. I would recommend him 100% and have no regrets.

Mr Arun Ranganathan 2020-04-10 Person 5 5 0

This review comes six and a half weeks after I had minimally invasive spinal surgery conducted by Professor Ranganathan to remove a slipped and fragmented dark disc in my L4-L5 region that had been pressing on my nerve. For many months prior to surgery, I had been suffering intense and chronic pain in my right leg, together with a range of other symptoms, such as throbbing that thundered down to my foot, flames of pain in my outer shin and numbness in parts of my leg and foot. By the time I went to see Professor Ranganathan, I had made it a habit to navigate each day in terms of managing the pain as best as I could and was worn down with it. Professor Ranganathan studied the results of the MRI scan and very clearly laid out the cause of my problem, as well as possible ways forward. His manner and the clarity with which he spoke were very reassuring. I went on to have a steroid shot that somewhat diminished the pain and allowed me to travel as planned. As he had said, the effects of the shot wore off after six weeks and the pain grew intense again. I went back to see him. At every meeting, I noticed that he listened and observed carefully, remembered the details of my case from one appointment to the next, guided me through what to expect and treated me very holistically, bearing in mind my concerns and priorities. Although he offered me a second steroid shot in case I wanted to delay surgery, I felt a lot of trust in him and had no hesitation in going for surgery. The technique of minimally invasive spinal surgery meant, as he has told me, that my muscles were not affected by the incision. As such, at its worst, the surgical wound felt slightly sore, but never painful. The recovery since has been almost magical, in that the chronic leg pain has vanished, I feel entirely relieved and am embarking on returning to the things I love, such as flamenco dance. I should add that this was my first ever operation. Not only had I never had surgery before, but I also know people who have had extremely unfortunate or difficult experiences with spinal surgery. Under normal circumstances, I would have been petrified. In actual fact, Professor Ranganathan made me feel totally reassured. His manner made me feel that he was knowledgeable and clear about what the outcomes might be. He inspires a great deal of trust. In addition, once the operation was over, I noted that he works with an absolutely fantastic team, who are informed, kind and incredibly caring. Most importantly, Professor Ranganathan is a skilled, innovative and incredibly gifted surgeon and I am very fortunate to have been in his expert care.

Mr Arun Ranganathan 2020-04-10 Person 5 5 0

Firstly, I'd like to put it out there that Dr Arun Ranganathan is very specialised at what he does, he listened to me and my parent's worries before and after the operation and pointed out all the possible risks of my operation. This doctor ensured that I was well taken care of and reassured me that everything was going to be fine during my recovery. During the operation, my mum and dad was outside the operation room very scared but the nurses always came to calm them down and tell them I was fine. After my operation, there were many surgeons and nurses around me in the intensive care unit ensuring that I have gained full consciousness and continuously supporting and assuring my parents giving them relief. I didn't see this myself but my mum told me afterwards which enlightened my face with a joyous smile. I stayed in the hospital for about 4-5 days and I must say that it was an unforgettable experience as my friends, family and the nurses comforted me in the best way I could possibly imagine. I must admit that it was quite painful and draining but without a doubt, it was completely worth it and I'm highly proud and grateful of the surgeon team who carried out my operation for taking care of me. I know a lot of parents, especially mothers would be scared of your children undergoing this type of operation, even my mum didn't want me to have this operation especially as my scoliosis was a double curve which was very severe but my dad and the doctor assured her that it was all going to be well and this was the best thing to do for my scoliosis to not develop and affect me in the future so I would advise every parent to this not for themselves, but for the health of your child. Presently, it's been a year since my scoliosis operation and I feel better than ever and so grateful that I did this operation as I gained more than I thought I'd lost. My mother is sitting next to me as I'm writing this and she's very elated and appreciative of the doctor, nurses and the surgeon team. I am back to participating in playing sports and physical education in school. I'd like to use this review as an opportunity and message to all parents to put some faith and trust in the doctor to take good care of your child and to not hold on to fear as you will surely see happiness in the end and comfort during the whole process along with regular checkups after the operation. I'd like you to not hold on to your fear and I hope that for anyone reading this, you find the courage to undergo this operation and I hope for the best. Sarah Alele