THE TEAM APPROACH TO SPINE CARE

In 1998 I returned to India, having lived and worked abroad for the preceding five years; I managed to get a job with the newly opened Indian Spinal Injuries Centre at Vasant Kunj, developing the spinal and orthopaedic unit there. It was here that I met Dr Sunil Katoch and we began to work as a team rather than as two separate orthopaedic and spine surgeons. In him I found a passion for excellence and a deep empathy for his patients. A lot of the patients at the Spinal Injuries Centre were paralysed, either from the neck down or from the waist down. They were of all ages and many had complications like decubitus ulcers or pressure sores, urinary tract infections, chest infections, joint contractures and paralysed hands. Together we treated many of these problems, including plastic surgery procedures for decubitus ulcers, and tendon transfers for paralysed hands. In addition, as time passed and as practice built up, non paralysed patients, and patients with spinal problems such as slipped discs, sciatica, scoliosis, cervical spondylosis became a portion of our operation list. It gives me immense pleasure to say that many of these patients continue to come to us for treatment. Both Dr Sunil and I have an enormous rapport with them.

The team was enriched when Dr Sameer Anand joined us in 2004. In the initial phases his practice was more of fracture and orthopaedic surgical work, but as time passed Dr Sameer developed a healthy interest in minimal invasive spinal surgery. He brought to our surgical armamentarium his knowledge and skills with ozone discolysis and percutaneous evacuation of the slipped disc. This helped us save many patients from major spine surgery. With Dr Sameer joining us, we came to be known as 'The Spine Team'.

In 2007 The Spine Team moved to Max Hospital, in Saket and Gurgaon. As time has passed we have built a reputation for ethical treatment and an holistic approach to our patients. We do not promise miracles but we promise that we will do our best for our patients. We conduct our OPDs together, and operate together, complementing our strengths and minimising our weaknesses. We treat all aspects of spinal disorders - neck and back pain, sciatica, spinal tumours, fractures, degenerative spine disease, deformity correction, and spinal infections. We employ minimally invasive techniques and a newer approach which we call LISS or limited incision spine surgery. A particular field in which I can say we are very strong is revision spine surgery, in which a second or even a third spine procedure is performed. These are absolutely challenging cases. The expertise gained in treating spinal tuberculosis has resulted in the publication of a book called 'Tuberculosis of the Spine' published in 2014 by CBS Publishers, New Delhi.

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