The department of neurosurgery at PGI, Chandigarh have come up with a new solution which can be a sense of relief for the patients with back pain. Now, the patients would not have to wait for the doctor’s approval for undergoing low back surgery. The Department of Neurosurgery, PGIMER has started Stitchless Endoscopic Spine Surgery under Local Anesthesia.
Neurosurgeons Dr Dhandapani and his team performed this procedure on a patient with the lumbar disc. The patient was fully awake while undergoing the procedure.
PGI had acquired the gadget to perform the surgery earlier. Back surgery used to be open and the patient had to be made unconscious using general anaesthesia earlier. The whole surgery is done under local anaesthesia and the risks associated with general anaesthesia is thus avoided through this new procedure. According to PGI doctors, this procedure is one of the latest advances in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery, guided by a needle under X-ray, followed by pure endoscopic visualisation.
“The surgery is performed in case of patients, who have back or disc problem and who is not relieved even after physiotherapy and medicine. It depends upon the disease and the patient’s preference that which surgery has to be undertaken. Symptoms could be pain from back to the foot. Basically, these are disc-related problems,” said Dr Dhandapani.
This technique doesn’t leave scars or stitches. The cost of the procedure is also less compared to general anaesthesia. It costs about Rs 12,000 while the surgery under general anaesthesia cost Rs 20,000. As the normal parts of the spine are not disturbed, the long term adverse effects are also avoided which makes the post-operative recovery faster.

Source: Times Of India, The Tribune.

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