Winnipeg man, 78, fears dying in pain after four years of waiting for spinal surgery

A man from Winnipeg says he's been waiting for a spinal surgery for nearly four years and despite recent promises by the province to alleviate Manitoba's surgical backlog, he still hasn't received an answer from his surgeon on when his procedure can take place. 

Garth Merkeley, 78, says in September 2018, he was told by a surgeon at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre that he needs a spinal fusion — a surgery to permanently connect vertebrae in his spine.

Merkeley says the surgeon told him the wait is lengthy and could take six to nine months. But it's been nearly four years and there's still no word on when he will get it, he said. 

"It's been brutal," Merkeley said. "You're trying to carry a lifestyle with your friends, but you can't do what you used to do so well. It's hard on your spouse. It's hard on the family." 

Merkeley says he injured his hip, knee and back through many years of exercise and has degenerative nerve issues in his lower back, also known as the lumbar spine. 

His lower body is starting to get nerve damage, the muscles in his legs are atrophying and without this surgery, his condition and pain will only worsen, Merkeley said. 

"I'll never get it done and I'm going to die in pain needlessly," he said. "The province has to step up."

Shared Health, which oversees the Winnipeg Spine Clinic at HSC, said it can't comment or share details of a patient's case due to the Personal Health Information Act.

Dr. Peter MacDonald, orthopaedic surgeon and chair of Manitoba's diagnostic and surgical recovery task force, said currently around 200 patients are waiting for spine surgery in the province. 

"It doesn't sound like a big number, but that's a big number for spine surgery because they're big procedures," he said in an interview with CBC. 

A spine surgery can take six hours and there are only seven spine surgeons in Manitoba to meet that demand — one is in Brandon and the rest are at Winnipeg's HSC, MacDonald said. 

He says there was a backlog of spine surgeries even before the pandemic started and with the pandemic, the backlog exacerbated because of increased demand at HSC. 

MacDonald said the province will be hiring an additional orthopaedic surgeon in Brandon and four physical therapists at the spine clinic to alleviate the backlog.

It's also expanding its project with Sanford Health in Fargo, North Dakota, by sending 19 more patients there for spinal surgery, he said.