Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe
September 15, 2024
Dr. S. K. Rajan explains how a combination of team, technology and training has pushed spine surgery safety past 99 percent, and why a clear cause for pain must be identified before surgery, not just an abnormal MRI.
Questions Doctors Asked Dr. S. K. Rajan
Real questions from the live masterclass, answered by Dr. S. K. Rajan, Chief and Unit Head - Orthopaedics.
Do you have provisions for doing spine surgeries for children with neural tube defects?
Asked by Dr. Navala Gabriel
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.
— Dr. S. K. Rajan
What about the cost of treatment, and the duration of treatment, for a spine problem?
Asked by Dr. Buffa
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.
— Dr. S. K. Rajan
Do you use intraoperative neuromonitoring?
Asked by Dr. Abraa
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.
— Dr. S. K. Rajan
Read the Full Article Series
- 1.Making Spine Surgery 100% Safe: A Complete Guide
- 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