In the five-part podcast series we are immersed in the story of 9-year-old Wessel. Wessel has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a condition that causes muscle weakness and problems with movement that get worse over time. Due to this condition, he is largely wheelchair bound. And because he is in a wheelchair, the curvature of his spine has developed and his organs are shifting and sagging. A scoliosis operation must therefore be done. In the podcast Operatie geslaagd ('Operation Successful') we follow a potentially groundbreaking operation. From exciting preparation to the operation itself.
We follow a groundbreaking innovation
Fortunately for Wessel, professor Dr Moyo Kruyt and his colleague René Castelein have devised an innovative way to operate on scoliosis at the UMC Utrecht. With this new way of operating, Wessel does not have to go surgery 10 times, but only once. But then the operation must be successful.
We also follow the operating room assistant on duty, Demi van Vliet. She has an essential role during the operation at the surgeon's side. Operating assistant is a scarce profession. The Netherlands has only 5,450 surgical assistants, 10% of them are actively looking for a (different) job.
The podcast has been very well received. There was even an item about it in the popular news program for youth, Het Jeugdjournaal. In addition to many items in medical media and local news media.
Écoutez le podcast sur Spotify :
