Kolkata: The spine, also known as the backbone, is the central support structure of the human body. It protects the spinal cord, which transmits messages between the brain and the rest of the body. An injury to the spine can lead to permanent disability resulting in life in a wheelchair, a bedridden/paralyzed state, or even death depending on the severity of the damage.
The intricate nature as well as the equally difficult conditions that may affect spinal health, explains the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to its care. Spine surgery can correct spinal deformities, stabilize the unstable spine, and relieve pressure on the compressed spinal cord or nerves to name a few.
Manipal Spine Care Center at Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, Bangalore has been a dedicated center of excellence in the comprehensive care of millions of patients with wide spectrums of spinal ailments for over 15+consecutive years now.
The Spine Care Center is protocol-driven and aims to provide the best of care at an affordable price, be it non-operative treatments or advanced spinal surgeries aided by technological advances. This not only makes the result to be immediate & definitive but also the result which stands the test of time.
Dr. S Vidyadhara, HOD & Consultant – Spine Surgery, Spine Care, Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, is the founder and pioneer in developing the spine care center (the first of its kind in India) of Manipal Hospital in 2008 and has been offering great surgical outcomes (at par with international standards) since then to patients from across the world with complex spinal disorders.
Dr. S Vidyadhara said, “In the past 15 years, we have treated all age groups of patients (from infants to elderly up to the age of 100+ years), uniformly with a success rate of more than 99%. We have performed over 12,850 surgeries so far. There may be a bony spinal canal problem or intra-spinal cord issues – all are treated equally well with equal success because we have state-of-the-art infrastructure operating rooms with multi-module neuro-monitoring and neuro-navigation, all the facilities that are available for making the spine surgery safe and the results are at par with any center of excellence across the world.”
Ms. Suchanda Ghoshal was operated on at the age of 15 years for complex severe thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis (hunch back) by Dr. S Vidyadhara more than a decade ago. Today, she is happily married with two children delivered via normal delivery. Patient was given proper advanced medical care which aided her quick recovery so that she could continue with her academics without any breaks despite undergoing such a major spinal deformity correction surgery.
The results are so overwhelming and the patient’s family is so confident with the treatment provided that when a couple of years ago her mother developed quadriplegia (paralysis of hands and legs) due to a spinal bone tumor, they chose to come over to the same doctor at the same hospital. Yet again the mother was operated on successfully with spinal cord decompression and she is now back on her feet.
In spinal deformity surgeries, patients are encouraged to mobilize (walk) within a few hours of the surgery and they can be expected to return to normal lives within 2-3 weeks.
“The main emphasis here is that for such a major scoliosis deformity correction in a student, we either perform the surgery during the school holidays or festival vacations so that they don’t lose out on an academic year,” said Dr. Vidyadhara.
“In case of children of financially deprived families with serious spinal illnesses, we have our NGO – Manipal Foundation to help those who belong to a poor socio-economic background undergo surgery if they have proper documentation to substantiate BPL/low-income status of the parents,” added Dr. Vidyadhara.
Mrs. Chanda Chakravarthy is a tea-shop owner from Kolkata who came to Bangalore and underwent spinal surgery over 12+ years ago. Not only has she recovered well, but she also got back to work just after a month of surgery and still continues to work in her tea shop. Her father and a few other members of the family were also operated on at the hospital, and they are all benefitting from the positive outcomes of the procedures over a long period of time.
Mrs. Rakhi, a young unmarried girl 7-8 years back, had a tumor arising from the spinal bone. She underwent surgery for the complete resection of the tumor and fixation of the bones. She was put back on her feet the very next day of surgery and was back in action with unrestricted activities after a month of surgery. It’s been over 8 years now and she is leading a good life. So, the crux of any spinal problem is that if the treatment is appropriate, meticulous and on time, the results will be long-lasting.
Patients who undergo successful spinal surgery can lead a normal life like anyone else. Although there can be minor problems such as wound infection, re-surgery, etc., the risk of paralysis in spinal surgeries in today’s world is very negligible. And, most often it’s a very gratifying feeling since spine surgeries are almost always successful if performed by experts in the field with vast training, expertise, and experience, and also using new and advanced technology.
