VANESSA FIELDS will get married this summer without the need for painkillers after surgery carried out in the North-East.

Ms Fields, 28, who has suffered from serious back problems since she was a teenager, has been cured after the first operation of its kind in the world.

It means she will be able to get married in August to her partner, Adam Robinson, 31, in Kirklevington, near Yarm, without gritting her teeth against pain.

Ms Fields, of Billingham, Teesside, said: "Being able to walk down the aisle without pain means everything to me.

"Having this operation has been amazing. I cannot believe I am a world-first."

A team at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust headed by consultant Tai Friesem carried out the spinal disc replacement operation using advanced "surgical navigation technology" used in the US.

Mr Friesem was able to remove Ms Fields' damaged spinal disc and replace it with an artificial disc, which resembles a ball and socket.

Before the operation, an X-ray image of Ms Fields' spine was loaded into the navigation system's computer.

This allowed the surgeon to "view" the spine on a screen while using surgical instruments without the need for constant X-rays.

The spinal navigation camera's infrared beams reflected off the surgeon's instruments, allowing him to see where the instruments were.

The operation was also performed through the abdomen rather than the back, which meant a quicker recovery because the muscles around the spine were untouched.

It means the patient can usually leave hospital a day-and-a-half after surgery, rather than the usual week.

Ms Fields began experiencing severe back pain when she was 15, which was made much worse a year ago when she was in a car accident.

She said: "My day-to-day life was awful. I had to have help for simple things like putting on socks. I could not be independent and I had virtually no social life."

A second patient, John Hughes, 34, from Stockton, had a spinal disc replacement the day after Ms Fields and is also doing well.

He said: "Having this surgery means that I will be able to return to work as a steel fixer and take an active part in my children's lives."

Mr Friesem said: "The increased accuracy that can be achieved with surgical navigation will hopefully improve results of this type of surgery."

It is estimated that up to 50 people a year in the North Tees and Hartlepool areas will benefit from the surgery.