Trampoline Accident leads to Rare Spinal Injury

13-year-old Roi Zamir was jumping on his trampoline at home with his friends, when a body movement caused him to suffer a rare slipped disc in the middle of his spine. Initially, his parents thought he had pulled a muscle as he was limping a bit. However, when the limp worsened the next day and he lost feeling in his left leg, he was referred to Schneider Children’s.

Examination showed that Roi was suffering from a slipped disc in the middle of his back, an extremely rare condition. “This is the least common area for a disc to prolapse because most of the body’s movements occur in the neck or the pelvis”, said Dr. Nissim Ohana, Director of the Spinal Unit at Schneider Children’s. “This is rare even in adults and the first time I have seen such a case in a child. Only 1% of slipped discs occur in the back. Professional medical literature revealed only one similar case in the world”.

Dr. Ohana and Dr. Amir Amitai operated on Roi for almost 7 hours. In order to access the site of the injury, the physicians opened his chest and had to remove a rib. Roi was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit for two days after which he was moved to the Surgery Department. He will begin rehabilitation in a week.

Roi should not suffer any physical limitations as a result of the accident. “He arrived almost completely paralyzed and today he can already move his legs and walk. This is a dramatic change and we don’t foresee any problems in the future,” said Dr. Ohana.