Princess Eugenie speaks about back surgery

SYDNEY (AAP) - Sixth-in-line to the British throne Princess Eugenie has revealed details of the childhood surgery that saved her from becoming a hunchback.
During a visit to Britain's Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital with her father, the Duke of York, this week, the 21-year-old princess recalled her own time as a patient at the facility as a 12-year-old.
Eugenie was treated for scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, which can sometimes cause a lump on the back or a protruding shoulder blade.
She underwent an eight-hour operation during which pins were placed in her back, and spent three days in intensive care following the surgery.
During Thursday's hospital visit, Eugenie met 16-year-old Rachel Burgess who had undergone treatment for scoliosis, British media reported on Friday.
"That's what I had," Eugenie told Rachel's mother, Carol.
"I've got the scar on my back," said the princess, before turning and lifting her hair to reveal a faint scar.
It is the first time Eugenie has spoken publicly about her surgery.
"I wouldn't look the way I do. My back would be hunched over. I wouldn't be able to talk the way I do about it and help other children who come to me with the same problem," The Daily Express newspaper reported Eugenie saying of her childhood surgery.
"It was a huge part of my life when I was 12 - so young. Children can see me and know that (the operation) works."