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Who is a spine surgeon?

Doctors who specialize in treating the conditions that effect the spine are spine surgeons. A doctor may refer you to a spine surgeon when all other methods and treatments to ease your back pain seize to provide that relief. Your spine can be affected by any amount of reasons that include aging, improper body mechanism, trauma or structural abnormalities, etc. The aim is to change the patient’s anatomy in order to relieve them from pain and lower abdominal weakness.

When should you see a spine surgeon?

If your general physician diagnosis you with a back pain that would not go away with non-surgical procedures and medication, then you should see a spine surgeon if the following symptoms persist:

• Unrelenting pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks even after the injury or the underlying cause has been treated, which is also referred to as subacute pain
• Pain or numbness in the lower abdomen (legs or feet) along with backache
• Severe discomfort in the lumbar region (lower back) or thoracic spine (upper and middle part of the back) that is accompanied by fever, chills or night sweats
• Inability to move your leg or arm, which had been functioning normally before
• Unable to control bladder or bowel function
• Unintentional weight loss

“Assessment of Modes of Injury and Outcome in Patients with Traumatic Posterior Fossa Extradural Hematomas: A Study of a Tertiary Care Hospital” reflects the prevalent symptoms of patients admitted in Pakistan for spine surgery:

What are the most common ailments in Pakistan concerning spine surgery?

According to the Fact Sheet of Global Burden of Disease on Lower Back Pain, the lower back pain is the primary cause of disability in people, globally.

A study on “Experience of Orthopedic and Spine Center Pakistan during COVID-19” shows that between 19th March 2020 and 13th July 2020, two thousand one hundred and sixty (2160) surgeries were performed by the orthopedic team of Ghurki Hospital, Lahore. The breakup of the surgeries is as follows:

“Epidemiology of Spinal Cord Injury in Pakistan: A Retrospective Study” suggests majority (90%) of the patients admitted for spinal surgery between 2010 and 2016 were paraplegic (affected by paralysis of the legs and lower body).

The common causes of injuries were as follows:

What kind of spine surgeons are there?

You can consider the type of spine surgeon you want to consult depending upon your condition, as recommended by your doctor. Both, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons, can specialize in spine surgery.

• Neurosurgeon, however, handle brain, spine and spinal cord injuries, nerves, tumors and vascular malformations (Intracranial and intraspinal vasculature)
• Orthopedic surgeons manage the pediatric deformity, high grade scoliosis, pelvic fixation, arthritis, sports injuries, bone tumor,

In general, neurosurgeons are trained to perform a spine surgery but not all orthopedic surgeons are. Both surgeons treat neck and back pain, pinched nerves, spinal stenosis, and other general spine conditions.

The surgeons can always subspecialize in pediatrics, cervical spine, lumbar spine, hand and wrist surgery, plastic surgery, or in other areas or procedures.

How to become a spine surgeon in Pakistan?

1. After completion of your MBBS followed by a focused residency program
2. You can opt for an MD or DO, or both
3. Followed by one year or more of fellowship training to specialize in spine surgery

For orthopedic surgeon and neurosurgeons who do not pursue fellowship but continue training for a considerable amount of time have likely earned their additional training and may not be fellowship trained.

What are spine surgeons called in Pakistan?

• Spine specialist
• Orthopedic spine specialist
• Neurosurgeons
• Back specialist
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