IPGMER & SSKM Hospital collaborated with Operation Straight Spine for Charitable Spinal Deformity Surgery
News Correspondent, abptakmaa, Kolkata, 29th Feb 2020 : Today, the City of Joy witnessed the inauguration of 1st Kolkata Spine Deformity Conference & 13th Live Spine Deformity Surgical Workshop organized by Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGMER) & SSKM Hospital along with Operation Straight Spine Trust in gracious present of Prof (Dr) Ananda Kishor Pal HOD-Department of Orthopedics-IPGMER, Dr Ujjwal Kanti Debnath Consultant Orthopedics & Spine Surgeon, Dr Harwant Singh from Malaysia, Dr Shah Alam from Bangladesh, Dr Alaaeldin Ahmed from Palestine and other medical practitioners from various part of the country at the Auditorium & Surgical Theatre of IPGMER & SSKM Hospital, Kolkata.
In his welcome address Dr Ananda Kishor Pal, HOD-Department of Orthopedics-IPGMER and chairman of this conference said “This year for the first time we have organized an unique conference and surgical workshop in Kolkata with an aim to update ourselves with practical tips for managing pre & post-operative care of such a complex spinal problem in children and adults by the surgeons from all around world”.
There is an extremely high level of musculoskeletal deformity in India as shown by recent surveys. Over 6 million people suffer from some type of physical deformity like Congenital scoliosis and kyphosis, Idiopathic Scoliosis, Spina bifida, Spondylolisthesis, Tuberculosis, Spondylodiscitis, Post-traumatic deformity, Poliomyelitis with spinal deformities, Cerebral Palsy etc. In children, deformities can be a major source of emotional trauma for them, their family and the community in which they live. Eighty percent of these children belong to the lower socio-economic class who cannot afford appropriate treatment or education about their condition. Spinal deformity surgery involves complex procedures and is only possible with specialized equipment and implants. This equipment can be quite expensive and in India is rarely available outside private hospitals.
Though this is the first conference in Kolkata but it is the 13th consecutive year of the surgical clinic run by “Operation Straight Spine Trust’’ with an aim to provide comprehensive medical and state-of-the-art surgical care to children and adults from socially deprived areas who would not otherwise have access or could not afford such treatment. According to Dr Ujjwal Kanti Debnath, the organizing secretary of this conference & Operation Straight Spine Trust “the goal of the project is to provide charitable specialized spinal surgery for the underprivileged children and adults with spinal deformity. The whole process will be supervised by our International faculty of Surgeons, Anesthetists, nurses & paramedical staff from USA, UK and Europe”. “We have scheduled this year the surgery of 9 patients with spinal deformity here at SSKM hospital and we are glad to announce that it is completely charitable. It’s our immense pleasure to inform you that in future we want to raise our hand for more underprivileged children and adults” added Dr Debnath.
About Operation Straight Spine (OSS): OPERATION STRAIGHT SPINE was endorsed by Scoliosis Research Society in 2014. World Orthopedic Concern has recognized this charitable mission and plans to support OSS in future. There are few cheap alternatives to surgery that adequately address many spinal conditions or deformities especially in children. This is often the reason why spinal surgery is so rare in countries that are struggling to support even basic medical care. This year the trust tied up with IPGME&R and SSKM hospital for 1st time to provide this service and continue an annual charitable spinal deformity workshop which will benefit many underprivileged children and adults. The project also aims to train pre and post-operative care for Resident doctors, junior doctors & medical students of IPGME&R and SSKM hospital, Nurses (especially ward and OT nurses), Physiotherapist and also lend a hand towards Post-graduate education, interactive symposiums and developing facilities for regular workshops with foreign & national faculty. Publicity : Maitreyee Mukherjee .
