Cassandra Azmann is living a normal life thanks to a Regina doctor’s trial of a novel pain treatment approach.
Azmann has spent years seeking treatment for her Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome (LPHS).
“Seven years of laying in bed, seven years of progressively going downhill, to the point where even small things like sitting here in a chair was unfathomable even five days ago,” she explained to CTV News.
LPHS is a fatal condition that produces discomfort in the kidneys. While the discomfort is concentrated near the kidneys, medical specialists are still uncertain what causes it, making finding remedies extremely tough.
Azmann, on the other hand, has found hope at the office of Dr. Bhanu Prasad, who has spent years working to enable people with LPHS live regular lives.
“We had patients come back to us and say they were able to do scuba diving, [skydive], or even going on vacations and lifting their kids, which they couldn’t before,” the nephrologist stated. “I think that’s incredibly gratifying,” she says.
Dr. Prasad is presently wrapping up a trial of his pain management approach, which is proving to be quite effective.
The minimally invasive treatment entails creating a quarter-inch incision, then ascending through the femoral artery to the kidneys and implanting a catheter-based device that utilizes radio frequency to damage neural connections.
Azmann, a patient in the experiment, noted that many people with LPHS have difficulty and dismissal from clinicians when seeking a diagnosis.
She is a member of a huge support network for persons suffering from the condition, and she has witnessed personally the repercussions of the battle.
“We don’t pretend to be in pain; we pretend to be fine.” “The number of stories I’ve read, seen, and spoken with about people deciding where they’re going to take their lives, and there are many who have,” Azmann added.
As this feasibility trial concludes, Dr. Prasad and his colleagues will go on to a bigger randomized control trial, which will ideally bring Dr. Prasad and his team closer to having this treatment available in healthcare facilities throughout the world.
“The next step is obviously to look at what’s actually driving the pain, find biomarkers for the condition, and then hopefully come up with non-invasive therapeutic solutions,” he added.
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