07
November
2021
|
12:54 PM
America/New_York

From spine surgery to NYC Marathon: Hospital for Special Surgery helps woman get back on her feet

ABC 7 reports the story of HSS patient Ruth Torres, who will run the 2021 New York City Marathon after receiving minimally invasive surgery performed by Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, MBA, to address her lumbar spinal stenosis.

In 2018, Dr. Qureshi performed a minimally invasive surgery to relieve the compression on Torres' nerves and restore stability.

According to Dr. Qureshi, “While that is a very common problem we see, what made Ruth's case particularly unique was that her goal was to get back to running and so we needed to do something that would not only allow us to correct her problem but give her the longevity and the ability to run the distances she wanted to run.”

He explained, “We made a small opening on the side of her spine. We used image guidance during surgery that allowed us to be able to see in three dimensions, Ruth's spine, without having to make big incisions and dissecting muscles. We then placed a spacer and screws to provide stability for her spine.”

Torres noted, “I made a decision that I'm going to run the New York City Marathon every year until I can't run anymore.”

She continued, “I am excited and scared. I feel that my training is going to get me to the finish line. My back is definitely not going to prevent me from running. My back is A-Okay.”

Watch the full segment at Abc7ny.com.