PHOTO: Gavriel Avitan (second left) with Prof. Uri Wald (left) and Drs. Ohad Einav (second right) and Gal Barkay (right) — part of the Hadassah team who got the 59-year-old back on his feet.

 

Just a year ago, 59-year-old Gavriel Avitan, a father of eight, was living an active, healthy life. Then, without warning, he began to lose feeling in his legs. Over the next several months, his symptoms grew worse — dragging his feet, repeated falls, and complete loss of sensation. Yet, every test came back normal. One doctor even suggested stress might be to blame.

Everything changed after a crucial MRI scan revealed the real cause: a rare tumor in Gavriel’s chest had invaded his spinal column, causing paralysis in his legs.

When Prof. Josh Schroeder, head of the Spine Surgery Unit at Hadassah, reviewed Gavriel’s case, he immediately understood the urgency. Within hours, he assembled a multidisciplinary team to take on what would be a rare and high-risk operation.

“After a detailed team discussion, we decided on a two-stage surgical plan,” explains Dr. Ohad Einav, senior physician in the Spine Surgery Unit. “First, spine surgery to detach the tumor from the spinal cord and preserve motor function; second, thoracic surgery to remove the large tumor from the chest.”

The first procedure, led by Dr. Einav alongside Dr. Gal Barkay and Dr. Alexandra Satanovsky, used advanced robotic technology to delicately separate the tumor from the spinal cord, partially remove ribs, stabilize the spine, and reconstruct a vertebra.

Days later, Prof. Uzi Izhar and Prof. Ori Wald of the Thoracic Surgery Unit successfully removed the tumor in its entirety from Gavriel’s chest cavity.

Just weeks after facing the prospect of permanent paralysis, Gavriel walked out of Hadassah — on his own two legs.

“The team that operated on me are nothing short of angels,” says Gavriel. “They gave me back the ability to walk. My life has completely changed — no cane, no assistance, just me walking again.”