Despite a growing population suffering from back and spinal problems, a large number of people are still not aware about the advances in the field of Spine Surgery. Unfortunately, there are many myths prevailing in the Indian society related to management of spinal problems.
One such common myth is that getting a spinal surgery generally leads to paralysis for life. According to the Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI), there is no rationale behind this myth.“Majority of spine surgeries are very safe. The complication rate of routine spine surgery is no more than that of other surgeries like abdominal/cardiac/orthopaedic surgeries. The incidence of increase in permanent neurological deficit (weakness in the muscles), for example, is less than 1 percent after routine spine surgeries,” said Dr. Sajan Hegde, President-ASSI, Consultant Spine Surgeon & Head, Department of Orthopaedics, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
“Some very severe spine problems requiring very complex surgeries may have higher complication rates than routine spine surgeries. However, it would not be proper to have a general conception of the safety of spine surgeries on the basis of any complications arising from such complex surgeries. Such severe spine problems are quite uncommon. Moreover the consequences of not managing them would be far more devastating,” he added.
However only a small percentage of spinal problems require surgery. “Except when red flags are present, spine surgery is required only when a good conservative program fails. In fact the vast majority of spinal problems can be managed conservatively,” said Dr. Ram Chaddha, President Elect – ASSI and Prof & Head, Department of Orthopaedics – K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai.
“One interaction with any of the increasing number of patients undergoing spine surgery would clearly make the benefits of undergoing a spine surgery evident. In western countries, recent research suggests that almost 5,00,000 disk surgeries are performed annually. With advances in technology, the outcomes of spine surgeries have improved remarkably. Improved knowledge about the spine and its problems and advances in preoperative planning, technique of surgery, instrumentation, anaesthetic techniques, intra-operative imaging and antibiotic policy as well as intra-operative spinal cord monitoring, blood auto-transfusion and navigation where required, have made spine surgery a lot more safe with acceptable complication rates,” said Dr. H.S. Chhabra, Secretary-ASSI and Chief of Spine Service & Medical Director, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi.