Chief, Neuro Spine Surgery & Additional Director, Neurosurgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India
Series overview · 13 articles
Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
August 6, 2026
Modern spine surgery in India has reached more than 99% safety when performed with the right combination of team, technology and training, according to Dr. S. K. Rajan, Chief and Unit Head, Orthopaedics and Spine Neurosurgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India. This series is based on his Jivo Masterclass, Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe.
Why Spine Surgery Safety Matters
Dr. S. K. Rajan, a neurosurgeon by training who subspecialised in spine surgery through training across the United States, the United Kingdom and Bombay, explains that most back pain resolves with six to eight weeks of medicine, since it is usually muscular in origin. Surgery becomes necessary only for specific conditions: cervical spondylosis with nerve compression, tumours, infections, spinal deformity, fractures that do not respond to medicine, and spinal stenosis that limits a patient's ability to stand or walk. He stresses that a bad-looking MRI alone does not automatically mean a patient needs spine surgery, and that a clear cause for pain or weakness must be identified before surgery is recommended.
What This Series Covers
This series explains, in patient-friendly language, how spine surgery in India has become safer through technologies such as the O-arm intraoperative imaging system, keyhole and endoscopic techniques, intraoperative neuromonitoring, and an integrated spine clinic team model at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon. It covers specific conditions including spinal tuberculosis, scoliosis, lumbar canal stenosis and osteoporotic spinal fractures, all drawn directly from case examples and data shared by Dr. S. K. Rajan.
When Is Spine Surgery Actually Needed? Signs You Shouldn't Ignore | What Is the O-Arm and How Does It Make Spine Surgery Safer? | Keyhole (Minimally Invasive) Spine Surgery Explained | Why an Integrated Spine Clinic Matters: Team-Based Spine Care | Intraoperative Neuromonitoring in Spine Surgery | Treating Spinal Tuberculosis in India | Scoliosis Correction Surgery in India | Lumbar Canal Stenosis: Keyhole Surgery and Recovery | Cement Augmentation for Osteoporotic Spinal Fractures | Pediatric Spine Surgery in India: Conditions Treated | Cost of Spine Surgery in India | What Causes Spine Surgery Complications, and How They're Prevented
This article is based on a Jivo Masterclass session conducted by Dr. S. K. Rajan, Chief and Unit Head, Orthopaedics and Spine Neurosurgery, Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon, India. The article has been summarised with the assistance of an AI tool from the original masterclass recording. Watch the full Masterclass recording
This guide is based on a live Jivo Masterclass — Dr. S. K. Rajan taught doctors across Africa on September 15, 2024.
Watch the full recording, or read the guide above.
FROM THE LIVE Q&A
Dr. Navala Gabriel
Do you have provisions for doing spine surgeries for children with neural tube defects?
Dr. S. K. Rajan
Yes, we have specialist spine surgeons and pediatric surgeons also, and I myself do a lot of spine surgery in children — whether they have neural tube defects such as meningocele, Chiari malformation, or tethering of the spinal cord which can cause weakness of the legs. In all those patients we do spine surgeries, also in children who've got scoliosis or hemivertebra deformities, or tumours of the spine. All those patients we have been tackling from the age of 6 months to 18 years of age.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about the cost of treatment, and the duration of treatment, for a spine problem?▼
The cost of surgery in our hospital for spinal problems can range anything from $3,500 for a discectomy and decompression to $5,500 or $6,000 for fixation of the spine at one level, and even up to $10,000 for more complicated cases — that's usually the range of costs patients most commonly have to bear. Most of these patients, who come walking because of pain in the neck, arm, or lower back going into the legs, usually stay in the hospital for about three to four days, and in the country for about two weeks.
Do you use intraoperative neuromonitoring?▼
Yes, we do use intraoperative neuromonitoring — we are one of the very few centres in the country who have been using this quite regularly. We were focusing on minimally invasive spine surgery and spine navigation in this talk because of limited time, but yes, we do have neuromonitoring available to us as well.
Do you have provisions for doing spine surgeries for children with neural tube defects?▼
Yes, we have specialist spine surgeons and pediatric surgeons also, and I myself do a lot of spine surgery in children — whether they have neural tube defects such as meningocele, Chiari malformation, or tethering of the spinal cord which can cause weakness of the legs. In all those patients we do spine surgeries, also in children who've got scoliosis or hemivertebra deformities, or tumours of the spine. All those patients we have been tackling from the age of 6 months to 18 years of age.
What combination of factors has enabled spine surgery to reach over 99% safety?▼
According to Dr. S. K. Rajan, this level of safety has come from a combination of team, technology and training specific to high-end spine surgery, developed over several decades.
What is Dr. S. K. Rajan's background in spine surgery?▼
Dr. Rajan trained as a neurosurgeon before subspecialising in spine surgery across hospitals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Bombay. He now serves as Chief and Unit Head, Orthopaedics and Spine Neurosurgery, at Artemis Hospitals, Gurgaon.
What topics does this spine surgery masterclass series cover?▼
The series covers technologies such as the O-arm imaging system, keyhole and endoscopic techniques, and intraoperative neuromonitoring, alongside the integrated spine clinic team model and specific conditions including spinal tuberculosis, scoliosis, lumbar canal stenosis and osteoporotic spinal fractures.
In This Series: Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
- 1.Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
- 2.Cement Augmentation for Osteoporotic Spinal Fractures
- 3.Cost of Spine Surgery in India
- 4.Why an Integrated Spine Clinic Matters: Team-Based Spine Care
- 5.Intraoperative Neuromonitoring in Spine Surgery
- 6.Keyhole (Minimally Invasive) Spine Surgery Explained
- 7.Lumbar Canal Stenosis: Keyhole Surgery and Recovery
- 8.What Is the O-Arm and How Does It Make Spine Surgery Safer?
- 9.Pediatric Spine Surgery in India: Conditions Treated
- 10.Scoliosis Correction Surgery in India
- 11.Treating Spinal Tuberculosis in India
- 12.What Causes Spine Surgery Complications, and How They're Prevented
- 13.When Is Spine Surgery Actually Needed? Signs You Shouldn't Ignore