Spinal surgery a pain for Watson

Eric Watson. Photo / Kenny Rodger

They can rebuild him - multi-million-dollar businessman Eric Watson has had eight large screws inserted in his back as he recovers from a skiing accident.

A source close to Watson said he was in constant pain after having the screws inserted during almost six hours of surgery but was moving around and trying to stay positive.

The Hanover Finance co-founder fractured his spine during a holiday in Switzerland last week.

He may have been saved from more serious injury by 16-year-old son Sam, who quickly skied down the mountain in search of help.

"If Sam hadn't been such a quick thinker and skied down so fast there would have been a good chance Eric would have been paralysed," the source said.

Watson's Swedish-born girlfriend, Lisa Henrickson, and two younger sons, Leon and Lucas, were also in Switzerland.

London-based Watson hasn't revealed where he was skiing or when the accident occurred, but the Swiss getaway may have been a celebration for his 51st birthday.

He was being treated in the private Hirslanden Clinic in Zurich this week, where the source said he was still working "non-stop".

Auckland orthopaedic surgeon Greg Finch said Watson was likely to have had pedicle screws inserted in his spine, which are commonly used to keep an unstable fracture aligned while it healed.

"You use the screws and rods to hold everything in the correct position while the bones knit back together," he said.

He couldn't speculate how long the screws would be in place, but said the bones would take six to eight weeks to knit.

Watson would be in good hands in Zurich, where this type of surgery was pioneered, but New Zealand surgeons were also experts because of our high rate of spinal trauma from road crashes, Finch said.

Watson's partner in Hanover Finance, Mark Hotchin, said yesterday he'd been in contact with Watson but wouldn't comment on his condition.

The two men have come under flak from investors since the company collapsed in 2008, and those who lost money were sparing no sympathy for the injured high-flyer.

"It's retribution," said Lynne Mitchener, whose parents lost their savings.

"My poor old mum is still struggling financially and it just doesn't go away.

"I'm not too sympathetic."

Watson and Hotchin have also drawn the wrath of investors for throwing lavish birthday parties, including Watson's 50th bash in Istanbul last year.