FOR THE FIRST TIME IN INDIA, GANGA HOSPITAL HAS BEEN HONOURED WITH A PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR COLLABORATIVE SPINAL RESEARCH WITH RUSH UNIVERSITY, USA
The Team of Doctors who won the Macnab La Rocca Award for the year 2005
from left Dr Thomas J. Kishen, Dr Ajoy Prasad Shetty, Dr S Rajasekaran, Dr Naresh Babu.
The International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, Canada (ISSLS) has awarded the prestigious Macnab La Rocca Award for the year 2005 to Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore for the research on ‘A Finite Element Model analysis of the alterations in load pathways following destructive lesions of the growing spine’. The one-year research award carries USD 15,000 (more than Rs.6 lacs)
The research programme will be conducted jointly by the Department of Orthopaedic and Spine Surgery of Ganga Hospital and Rush University, Chicago, USA.
Dept of Orthopaedic and Spine Surgery Chief Dr. Rajasekaran said that the award has been established by ISSLS (International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, Canada ) to promote an extensive research activities into the cause and cure of diseases and deformities of the low back. The award was set up to promote collaborative research between reputed research units around the world. He said that Ganga hospital research team will be doing the clinical study while a validated three dimensional finite element model of the whole pediatric spine will be built by the collaborating team from the Rush University, USA
The award has been selected by an international committee comprising of Dr Gorden Bell, USA, Dr Kazuhiro Chiba, Japan and Dr Teija Lund, Sweden. This is the first time it is awarded to an institution from India, he added.
Elaborating about ISSLS, Dr Rajasekaran said that it is the most prestigious research society in the field of spine surgery and comprises of various scholars in different fields around the world. The unique feature of the society is that it comprises of a group of eminent scientists from all fields like Genetics, Bio-mechanics and surgeons who are actively involved in research for low back problems. Admission to the society is by invitation and not by application. Continuation of membership is only possible by a strict criteria of continued research proven by international publications and scientific presentations The membership is restricted at any time to a maximum of 200 members.
Explaining about the benefits of this research, Dr Rajasekaran said that the deformities of the spine are perhaps the most disabling physical deformity of the whole body. Apart from the cosmetic effect which can cause terrible physiological complications to the child and great social implications to the whole family, it can also result in serious secondary effects to the heart and lungs. In severe cases it can also result in paralysis of the legs for which treatment is very difficult once the complication is established. These effects are more common in children in whom the deformity continues to progress throughout the entire period of growth. The bio-mechanical forces across the spine influences to a great extent the pattern and the severity of the progress of deformity. However, the exact magnitude of these forces and their precise effects has not been quantified. Documentation of these data will be the chief aim of this study.
He further said that the outcome of the study will help in the decision making in the treatment of millions of children around the world who are at risk for gross deformities and the secondary problems. In India, specifically the research data will help in the treatment of more than a million patients with spinal tuberculosis which unfortunately is still the commonest cause for severe hunch-back deformities.
The spine department of Ganga Hospital functions as a comprehensive tertiary referral centre for all spinal problems from the cranio-vertebral junction to the sacrum. The department is treating more than 10,000 new spine out-patients and performing more than 500 major spinal surgeries every year. Micro spine surgery is routinely used for cervical and lumbar disc problems, removal of spinal tumors and in the treatment of congenital problems like tethered cord syndrome. Complex deformities due to tuberculosis or developmental problems are routinely treated by single or double staged corrections with spinal fixations. The clinical work attracts trainees from all over the world besides large numbers from India.
The Ganga research team consists of Dr S Rajasekaran Dr Ajoy Prasad Shetty, Dr Naresh Babu and Dr Thomas J. Kishen while the RUSH University team consists of Prof Gunnar Anderson and Dr Raghu Natarajan.