Bengaluru doctors heal bedridden US techie with rare condition. Now, she plays volleyball

Suprita AM told the Times of India. American doctors warned that surgery on her skull-spine junction could leave her permanently weak or dependent on ventilator support. Terrified, she and her husband flew to India, seeking second opinions and exploring alternatives—homeopathy, Ayurveda, posture correction. Nothing worked. But it was in Bengaluru that she found what Silicon Valley couldn’t offer: hope. At Aster Whitefield Hospital, doctors diagnosed her with atlantoaxial dislocation—a rare instability at the top of the spine that was compressing her spinal cord. The surgical risk was immense; one slip near the brainstem could have been catastrophic. That’s when the medical team, led by neurosurgeon Dr Satish Rudrappa and spine specialist Dr Ramachandran G, turned to mixed reality (MR) technology. Using augmented and virtual reality headsets, they transformed Suprita’s spine into a 3D hologram, rehearsed the procedure like a flight simulation, and mapped out the safest surgical path. “It was like walking around her spine before we even touched it,” Dr Ramachandran told the publication. “MR helps us anticipate complications and prepare for them.” Dr Satish added that the technology also helped the family understand the condition and the surgical plan. The five-hour surgery involved repositioning displaced bones to restore alignment. (Representational image)

In mid-2024, a 37-year-old IT professional based in the US, was bedridden with quadriparesis—paralysis of all four limbs. "I felt like I was losing balance constantly, even while walking," Suprita AM told the Times of India. American doctors warned that surgery on her skull-spine junction could leave her permanently weak or dependent on ventilator support. Terrified, she and her husband flew to India, seeking second opinions and exploring alternatives—homeopathy, Ayurveda, posture correction. Nothing worked.

But it was in Bengaluru that she found what Silicon Valley couldn’t offer: hope. At Aster Whitefield Hospital, doctors diagnosed her with atlantoaxial dislocation—a rare instability at the top of the spine that was compressing her spinal cord. The surgical risk was immense; one slip near the brainstem could have been catastrophic.

That’s when the medical team, led by neurosurgeon Dr Satish Rudrappa and spine specialist Dr Ramachandran G, turned to mixed reality (MR) technology. Using augmented and virtual reality headsets, they transformed Suprita’s spine into a 3D hologram, rehearsed the procedure like a flight simulation, and mapped out the safest surgical path.

“It was like walking around her spine before we even touched it,” Dr Ramachandran told the publication. “MR helps us anticipate complications and prepare for them.” Dr Satish added that the technology also helped the family understand the condition and the surgical plan.

The five-hour surgery involved repositioning displaced bones to restore alignment. The next morning, Suprita stood up. Within ten days, she walked home. Today, she’s back in the US—swimming, cycling, and playing volleyball.

“The only thing doctors told me is to avoid rollercoasters,” she said.