Mumbai, June 18 (IANS): Noted Hollywood film producer Rudolph Watz, who was suffering from slipped disc which caused disability in his leg and also numbness, successfully underwent a minimal invasive procedure at a hospital here, the hospital authorities said on Thursday.

Rudolph suffered from slipped disc for some time and had difficulty in walking.

Sipped or herniated disk is a condition in which one of the discs in the spine ruptures and the gel inside leaks out. It causes numbness and pain along the affected nerve. In severe cases, the patient may require surgery to remove or repair the slipped disk.

Several consultations with spine specialists in USA and UK had asked him to undergo open spine surgery, which Rudolph didn't want to in view of its morbid and painful post-operative course.

His quest for better treatment continued and he finally came across the name of Arvind G Kulkarni of "Mumbai Spine Scoliosis and Disc Replacement Centre" in Mumbai.

Rudolph flew to India and after several consultations with Kulkarni successfully underwent the Microendoscopy Disectomy, in which an 18 mm incision (almost scarless) and METRX tubes were used unlike the open surgery.

According to the health experts -- the success rate of this procedure is close to 100 percent. The advantages are early recovery, minimal post-operative pain, minimal blood loss and better cosmesis. The recovery is quite immediate and the patient can start walking the same day.

"The pain in me was basically due to the spinal nerves being under pressure from lower lumbar compression. I can say that my experience with Kulkarni's minimally invasive surgery at Mumbai has been a total success in all respects," Rudolph said.

"The cost involved is one sixth of what it would cost me in London where the minimal invasive technique is actually tough to find. For foreign patients the services from airport pick up and drop to all medical arrangements and costs, made the whole experience simple and quite reliable for me," Rudolph added.