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5 FeatureStory I just felt this pain like I’d never felt before. I couldn’t move my arm at all. Spare rib surgery is <strong>NUH</strong> first A teenager is now pain-free after a groundbreaking operation to remove a 'spare rib' that she was born with. Charlie Wright, 15, lived with the extra rib, near her collar bone for many years without it causing any problems, after being diagnosed with it when she was a young child. The only tell-tale sign was a small, bony lump near her neck. But in December 2014, as she pushed herself up out of her bed, she felt intense pain surge through her body which would not go away. Charlie said: “I just felt this pain like I’d never felt before. I couldn’t move my arm at all.” Her mum Sammy said: “She was just screaming and shouting. She was in absolute agony. It was so sudden.” At first Charlie and her parents did not link it to the extra rib, but after x-rays and scans were carried out it was clear it was the cause. The tests revealed a rare complication; the extra rib had a hinge-like joint in it which was trapping blood vessels and nerves, causing severe pain. It is a condition that is sometimes seen in much older patients, but doctors had never seen it in someone of Charlie’s age. William Tennant, Consultant Vascular Surgeon based at QMC, explained: “Charlie was born with an extra rib, called a ‘cervical rib’. Lots of people have them, but not as big as Charlie’s. “The extra rib was joined on to an abnormal lump of bone on her first (top) rib, and there was a joint in the middle. “The major nerves leading to Charlie's left arm, and the artery supplying it with blood were being squeezed very severely by the extra rib, which, I think, had bent at its joint when she pushed herself up from bed causing sudden onset of severe pain and numbness.” For the next three months Charlie required strong painkillers and was regularly in and out of hospital as doctors monitored the extra rib and determined the best treatment option. In March 2015, the day before her 15 th birthday she underwent the operation. It was a nerve-wracking time for Charlie and her parents. Charlie said: “I didn’t want an operation and I was really scared about it because I am terrified of needles. I don’t really remember much about what happened, but I know that the first thing I did when I came round was take a selfie and put it on Snapchat! I wanted to show everyone what I’d been through.” Sammy said: “We were in the recovery area and she kept asking me and the nurse where her phone was and we wondered what she was talking about. When we gave it to her she lifted her arm straight up in the air, something she wouldn’t have been able to do before, and took a selfie! “I think the painkillers she was on probably helped, but it was quite amazing to see.” Mr Tennant said the operation was extremely tricky, but a great success: “We had to very carefully move the blood vessels and nerves out of the way to find the extra rib. Even the smallest slip could have left Charlie paralysed in that arm, or with reduced circulation. “Once that was done, we cut the rib away with its joint and the lump of bone on her first rib. When the rib was removed, all of the nerves and blood vessels relaxed back into their normal place without any pressure.” Charlie is now pain-free with no ongoing symptoms. She said: “When I look back I can’t really believe everything that happened, it doesn’t feel real. Everyone who looked after me at the hospital was great. I spent so much time here and everyone from the surgeons to the nurses on the wards really looked after me.” Sammy said: “Me and Charlie’s dad can’t thank the team enough for what they’ve done.”
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