Spine Fusion Surgery Cost in India

By Dr.Ravindra Patil

Any type of spine surgery is thought to be a very expensive surgery. It is true to some extent as spinal fusion surgery cost is high because it needs very highly skilled surgeons, state of the art operation theatres and above all, surgical navigation for accuracy. But all these give fairly good results in patients who could not be operated at all a decade ago, because the skillset and surgical navigation were not available then. So now although back surgery cost is high, results are better.

Table of Contents

Cost of Spinal Fusion Surgery

The average Spinal Fusion Surgery cost is very high in western countries.

India is known worldwide for its advanced medical facilities and promising technology for Low Cost of Spinal Fusion Surgery. Many of the best hospitals for Spinal Fusion Surgery can be found in India.

Spinal Fusion Surgery cost in India is much less when compared to any other countries. Also the cost of Spinal Fusion Surgery in India is substantially lower than other developed countries of the world.

Private back surgery cost is higher because Private back surgery cost means treatment in a private hospital

Various deciding factors could determine the price of Spinal Fusion Surgery in India. These can be broadly classified as Hospital, Medical Team or Patient Dependent factors.

Hospital Factors

Type of the hospital (Government/Trust/Private).

Use of insurance, type of insurance or self paid.

Accreditation of the facility

Reputation and brand value of the hospital.

Medical Team Factors

Technology / Approach Used

Surgery Type

Type of Anesthesia or Sedation

Qualification / Expertise of the specialist

Extent of the surgery needed

Patient Factors

Patient’s diagnosis

Patient’s general health

Room Category selected by the patient

Other treatment required by the patient in conjunction

What is the definition of spinal fusion?

Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure wherein one or more vertebrae are united to eliminate any motion between them. The approach is similar to welding. Spinal Fusion Surgery, only does not weld the vertebrae immediately during surgery. The bone grafts are placed around the spine during surgery. The body then heals the grafts over several months.

When are the indications of spinal fusion surgery?

There are several potential reasons to consider spinal fusion. These include treatment of a fractured vertebra, rectifying deformity, elimination of pain caused during motion, treatment of instability, and treatment of cervical disc herniations.

Not all spinal fractures need surgery, some fractures, particularly those associated with spinal cord or nerve injury, generally require fusion as part of the surgical treatment.

Another condition treated is instability, i.e. the abnormal or excessive motion between two or more vertebrae. It is commonly believed that instability can be a source of back or neck pain or cause potential irritation or damage to close by nerves.

Cervical disc herniations that require surgery usually need fusion as well. In this technique, the disc is removed by an incision in the front of the neck and a small piece of bone is inserted in its place.

How is the Spinal Fusion Surgery performed?

There are many surgical methods available to fuse the spine that involve placement of a bone graft between the vertebrae. The spine may be treated from the back (posterior), from the front (anterior) or by a combination of both. The anterior approach is more common. The ultimate objective of fusion is to obtain a solid union between two or more vertebrae.

A fusion may or may not involve use of supplemental tools like plates, screws and cages. Instrumentation is sometimes used to rectify a deformity, but is usually used to hold the vertebrae together to while the bone grafts heal. Whether the hardware is used or not, it is important that bone or bone substitutes be used to get the vertebrae to fuse together.

The bone may be taken either from another bone in the patient or from a bone bank. Fusion using bone from the patient has a long history of use and results in predictable healing. Smoking, medications you are taking for other conditions and your overall health can affect the rate of healing and fusion, too.

How long does it take to recover from spinal fusion surgery?

Immediate discomfort following a spinal fusion is generally greater than with other types of surgeries. Fortunately, there are excellent methods of postoperative pain control available, including pain medications and intravenous injections.

Another option is a patient-controlled postoperative pain control pump. Here the patient presses a button that delivers a predetermined amount of narcotic pain medication through an intravenous line.

Patients generally stay in the hospital for three to four days, but a longer stay after more extensive surgery is also possible. A short stay in a rehabilitation centre after discharge from the hospital is recommended for patients who underwent extensive surgery, or for elderly or debilitated patients.

The fusion process varies in each patient. The healing process after fusion surgery is similar to that after a skeletal fracture. During this time, the patient’s activity is generally restricted. Substantial bone healing does not usually take place until three or four months after surgery.

Many a times spinal decompression surgery cost and healing time is compared with spinal fusion surgery cost. It must be understood that both are far different. Spinal decompression surgery does not need bone fusion and healing like spinal fusion surgery.

How many patients underwent Spinal Fusion Surgery in India in the last 5 years?

Private back surgery prices will vary from place to place. Scoliosis surgery cost is also of interest to many patients who have suffered kyphosis or scoliosis. Cost of spinal decompression surgery is also queried.

In recent years, India has emerged as a medical hub for patients looking for affordable, accessible and efficient low cost Spinal Fusion Surgery Treatment. Some of the best Spinal Fusion Surgery hospitals in the world are found in India. The country is known for offering advanced medical facilities at the most reasonable cost. An average increase of 15 to 20 percent annually has been observed in the number of patients in the last 5 years. The Indian Spinal Fusion Surgery hospitals deliver advanced health care and highest quality services backed by elaborate infrastructure and lower treatment cost

Here are the approximate figures of the patients underwent Spinal Fusion Surgery in the last 5 years in India

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Surgeries	4800	6000	7500	9600	10800

What are our special services offered to international patients?

At Samarth Neuro and Super Speciality Hospital we help arranging your treatment in a way that will suit you and be affordable for you. Chief neurosurgeon at Samarth Neuro and Super Speciality Hospital Dr Ravindra Patil is vastly experienced in all types of spine and brain surgeries. Spine fusion surgeries are done there as required.

Congenital Brain and Spine Anomalies

By Dr. Ravindra Patil

Table of Contents

What are congenital brain and spine malformations?

Congenital means present at birth.

These conditions may be mild and without symptoms or may be serious, requiring treatment. In some cases, surgery may be recommended to:

1. Address the child’s or the patient’s symptoms.
2. Correct the form and function of the brain and spine structures.
3. Maximize cognitive and motor
4. Prevent development of neurological deficits.

Congenital abnormalities, called malformations, are conditions affecting the form and function of the nervous system. There are numerous variations of congenital malformations of the bone and soft tissue of the head and spine, including neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, encephaloceles, Chiari malformations and arachnoid cysts.

Some congenital malformations are mild, and some are severe but correctable with surgery by a pediatric neurosurgeon.

Types of some of the Congenital Brain and Spine Malformations are as follows:

Chiari Malformations

This is a condition in which portions of the brain, called the cerebellar tonsils, protrude through the bottom opening of the skull into the upper spine, which can put pressure on the brain or spinal cord. Chiari malformations may block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, leading to hydrocephalus.

Treatments often focus on removing portions of the bone and soft tissue to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and brain, as well as providing new pathways to drain cerebrospinal fluid. Surgeons use different methods for treating these malformations, including decompression, with or without cutting open a small part of the dura mater [thick membrane covering the brain].

Encephaloceles

Encephaloceles are a type of neural tube defect characterized by the brain being exposed to the outside instead of being covered by the skull and skin. It can lead to infections and hydrocephalus.

Surgical treatment of this condition involves removing bone and soft tissue, draining cerebrospinal fluid, and surgically repairing or closing the encephalocele.

Children who have developed hydrocephalus as a result of an encephalocele will require treatment for that condition, often with a cerebrospinal fluid shunt. Shunting is the placement of a tube into the open area (ventricle) of the brain that allows cerebrospinal fluid to drain to the child’s abdomen or other location where it can be safely reabsorbed into the body.

Arachnoid Cysts

Arachnoid cysts are the most common type of brain cyst. They are congenital (present at birth) lesions that occur as a result of the splitting of the arachnoid membrane. The cysts are fluid-filled sacs, not tumors, appearing in one of the three layers of tissue covering the central nervous system.

Surgical treatment of this condition involves draining the cyst by drilling a small hole or by opening the skull and making small openings in the cyst to open the natural fluid pathways in the brain. This process is called fenestrating.

What are Spinal Deformities?

A spine deformity occurs when your spine varies by more than 10 degrees from ‘healthy’ curvature. But, what does this mean exactly?

Contrary to popular belief, your spine isn’t 100% straight and vertical. The spinal shape has curvatures, but the end result is that it is vertical! Our spine consists of a series of gentle arcs. Our lumbar spine, or lower back, swoops slightly to the back, and our thoracic spine, or upper back, bends subtly forward. The backward curve of your lower back is known as lordosis and the forward stoop that runs between our shoulder blades is known as kyphosis. Lordosis and kyphosis are spinal curvature deformities. Both are abnormal curvatures of the spine.

But, when viewed head-on, our backbone should look like a straight pillar. Hence, it is also called the ‘vertebral column’.

Moreover, the curves and straight stretches of your spine make symmetry possible. Your head sits directly over your pelvis because the lordosis of your lower back and the kyphosis of your upper spine balance each other out. If one of these curves becomes greater or lesser than the other, then problems can occur. We refer to this as sagittal imbalance, because the head and pelvis no longer fall within the same, or sagittal, plane.

Too much swaying backwards can be thought of as ‘lordosis’, and too much forward stooping in the upper back is ‘kyphosis’.

Likewise, when the spine tilts away from the midline of the body, doctors refer to this problem as coronal imbalance or scoliosis. Unevenness in the ‘coronal’ plane (the view from head-on) causes asymmetry in the trunk of the body. This can include uneven hips and shoulders or one-sided bulging of the ribs.

Diagnosis of Congenital Brain and Spine Malformations

If a child is born with any of the above malformations, a thorough evaluation by a paediatrician or neurologist is needed to diagnose the problem and recommend a plan for addressing it.

After a thorough physical and detailed family and patient history, your doctor may order imaging of the brain and/or spine through an MRI scan. If the MRI scan shows any evidence of these malformations, a neurosurgical consultation is a must to plan the best treatment.

Congenital Brain and Spine Malformations Treatment

A multidisciplinary approach is often beneficial for addressing children with congenital brain and spine malformations. Neurosurgeons, craniofacial plastic specialists and geneticists, among others, may be called upon to develop your child’s treatment plan and determine what kind of surgery may be appropriate.

If a congenital brain or spine malformation is mild and not causing any signs or symptoms in your child, the neurosurgeon may recommend observation, which means regular visits and testing to monitor your child’s condition.

If your child does undergo surgery, follow-up care is extremely important in tracking the progress of your child’s recovery. Your paediatric neurosurgeon will schedule follow-up appointments to ensure your child is making the best recovery possible.

Spinal treatments are focused on both correcting the functional shortcomings as well as the structural defects of the spine.

Congenital brain and spine defects treatment in Miraj, Maharashtra

Samarth Neuro and Super Speciality hospital has facilities to surgically treat some of the above brain and spine deformities present since birth. Abnormal curvature of the spine can be corrected to some extent.

Chief Neurosurgeon at Samarth Hospital Dr Ravindra Patil has considerable experience in treating such defects. Besides, as his hospital is located in a tier two city, the cost of treatment is considerably less than in major cities of India. Patients from foreign countries may find going to Miraj for treatment of brain and spine diseases from Dr Ravindra Patil considerably cost effective.