A Medical Miracle, As Seen on TV

New York Magazine—NEW YORK CITY—January 30, 2007

Grey's Anatomy wrapped up a special two-part episode, and New York magazine editors were fascinated with a case the doctors were facing:

A teenage girl came into the hospital with a severe form of scoliosis, known as kyphosis, that left her permanently bent 90 degrees at the waist. After three unsuccessful surgeries, she thought there was no hope — until Dr. Shepard came up with the ingenious solution to remove the bent part of her spine altogether and rebuild it using a titanium-mesh cage, thereby allowing her to stand up straight for the first time in her life. Wherever do the show's writers come up with such wacky ideas?!

In this case, New York magazine editors think they know: In New York's 2005 Best Doctors issue, they wrote about Krystle Eginger, who suffered the same problem, went through several similarly failed surgeries, and was ultimately saved by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei at Hospital for Special Surgery, who also replaced part of her spine with a titanium-mesh cage. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime case!" said Izzy on the show, begging to be allowed to scrub in. Said New York magazine, “We'll go with twice in a lifetime.”

Read the above New York Magazine Article.

The original case study originally appeared in New York Magazine's 2005 Best Doctors issue.