Best Doctors in India for Myelopathy Treatment
- Orthopedic Surgeon & Spine Surgeon, Mumbai, India
- Over 25 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Ram Chaddha is a specialist Spine Surgeon in Mumbai with expertise in the management and treatment of all kinds of spinal disorders for over 25 years.
- Dr. Chaddha is trained in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and is also among the few surgeons in India to hold expertise in Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Spine Surgery.
- Dr. Ram Chaddha spent a considerable number of years training undergraduate and postgraduate students and has also been an examiner for such courses at Mumbai University.
- Orthopedic Surgeon and Spine Surgeon, Mumbai, India
- Over 20 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Vishal Peshattiwar is a leading Spine Surgeon in Mumbai specializing in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeries (MISS)
- He has an experience of more than 2 decades in spine surgery and holds the credit of performing over 4000 spinal surgeries to
- He is the first in India to use the MISS technique on a patient with liver failure and Tuberculosis.
- Dr. Vishal Peshattiwar’s most notable case till date was performing a Revision Spine Surgery through MISS on the oldest patient in India.
- Orthopedic & Spine Surgeon, New Delhi, India
- Over 14 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Om Prakash Gupta is a reputed Spine Surgeon in India.
- He is currently functioning as a Consultant – Orthopedics & Spine at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi
- He has over 14 years of experience.
- Orthopedic Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 21 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. A Navaladi Shankar is a well-known spine surgeon and orthopedist in Chennai with 21+ years of experience.
- He completed an MBBS from Al-Ameen Medical College, MNAMS from the National Board of Education, and a Diploma from Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute.
- Dr. Shankar holds expertise in Laminectomy, Lower Back Pain and Neck Pain Treatment, Arthritis Management, and Trauma Surgery.
- Orthopedic Surgeon & Spine Surgeon, New Delhi, India
- Over 18 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Amit Kumar Agarwal is a Delhi-based orthopedic, joint replacement, and spine surgeon consultant who has been assuring joint and spine health for about 18 years.
- Dr. Agarwal has garnered numerous accolades for his work in treating Joints and Musculoskeletal Disorders, pain management, sports injury, and articular degeneration during his career.
- Orthopedic and Spine Surgeon, Gurugram, India
- Over 25 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Verma can be generally considered a boon for people suffering from complex, bone, joint, or spine disorders.
- Currently known as one of India’s leading spine experts in India, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Verma performs as many as 50 surgeries in a month. The types of surgeries he performs include all types of spine surgeries, joint replacements, as well as complex trauma surgeries.
- Orthopedic Surgeon and Spine Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 12 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Madhu Kiran Yarlagadda is an orthopedics – consultant specializing in Joint and spine surgery and works at the Apollo hospitals of Chennai.
- Dr. Madhu Kiran Yarlagadda’s team carried out Robotic Spine Surgery for the first time in South-East Asia and performed Endoscopic Transforaminal Spine Surgery in Chennai.
- He treats spine diseases and has the facilities and expertise to perform robotic spine surgery. Along with that, he treats patients with joint and other orthopedic issues.
- Spine Surgeon and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 18 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Muralidharan Venkatesan is a consultant in spine surgery from Chennai.
- He provides comprehensive cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back), and lumbosacral (lower back) conditions treatment.
- Dr. Venkatesan pursued MBBS, MRCS, and a fellowship FRCS and shifted his specialization to spinal surgery.
- Dr. Venkatesan has his papers published in several journals.
- Orthopedic Surgeon and Spine Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 23 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Ravi Venkatesan is a spine surgery specialist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- His experience in spine surgery, orthopedics, and spine deformity surgery date back nearly 23 years.
- Dr. Venkatesan has performed several surgeries and has been an active member of various orthopedics groups.
- Many organizations have recognized his service and have awarded him for his dedication.
- Orthopedic Surgeon and Spine Surgeon, Gurugram, India
- Over 15 years’ experience
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Hitesh Garg is one of the best spine surgeons in Gurugram.
- Dr. Hitesh Garg has undertaken over 5000 spine surgical operations, including 2500+ spinal fusions (TLIF, ACDF, and others); 1000 malformation revision operations (Scoliosis and kyphosis), 300 lumbar and cervical artificial disc replacements, 500 fracture treatments, and 500 other intricate procedures such as a spinal tumor, congenital defects, and spinopelvic fixations.
Best Hospitals in India for Myelopathy Treatment
Reliance Hospital, Mumbai
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Reliance Hospital is one of the best super-specialty care hospitals in Navi Mumbai.
- The main purpose of this hospital is to become a trustworthy place for the best health and hope for society. The hospital is well connected to the suburbs of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
- The hospital has various specialty departments, viz., Accident & Emergency, Anesthesiology, Dental Services, Dermatology, Diabetology, Dietetics Nutrition, Endocrinology, ENT, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynaecology And Obstetrics, Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgery, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Laboratory Medicine, Minimal Access Laparoscopic Surgery, Nephrology, Neurosciences, Opthalmology, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Pain Management Palliative Care, Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery, Psychiatry, Pulmonary Medicine, Radiology, Rheumatology, Transplant, Urology Andrology, Vascular Surgery
Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre is India’s premier multi-speciality tertiary care hospital and has been recognised as a global medical excellence centre.
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre has built an unrivalled level of trust with its patients over the years, thanks to a solid foundation that comprises cutting-edge facilities, the best medical competence, research, education, and charity endeavours.
- The hospital is quite proud of the fact that it now serves patients from all kinds of backgrounds, not just from the United States but from all around the world.
- The hospital has a total of 323 beds, one of the largest Intensive Care Units (ICUs), 12 Operation Theatres with modern amenities, over 300 consultants, and almost 1,800 personnel.
Venkateshwar Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- State-of-the-art technology and devoted healthcare professionals have been brought together under one roof at Venkateshwar Hospital to provide genuine medical care. The hospital’s professionals work together as a team to deliver the best possible treatment to their patients, using the most sophisticated equipment and information technology.
- Venkateshwar Hospital’s mission is to attain global excellence in healthcare by employing evidence-based, ethical clinical practices and cutting-edge technology by a team of highly skilled experts.
Myelopathy
Myelopathy is an injury to the spinal cord caused by severe compression. This compression may result from trauma, congenital stenosis, disc herniation, or degenerative disease. Your spinal cord is a group of nerves housed inside your spine running almost its entire length. If any portion of the spinal cord gets compressed or constricted, the resulting symptoms are termed myelopathy.
Types
Depending on where the condition is on the spine, there are various types of this condition:
Cervical myelopathy- This type of myelopathy affects the neck and is also the most common form of this condition. It’s generally caused by degeneration in the cervical spine, and it might lead to weakness, numbness, and tingling in your hands, arms, and legs.
Thoracic myelopathy- This type of myelopathy affects your mid-spine. It’s generally caused by bulging or herniated discs, bone spurs, or in some cases, spinal trauma. The signs and symptoms generally come on slowly, unless the cause of the compression is trauma. Some of these symptoms include numbness and weakness in the legs, loss of coordination, as well as difficulty in walking.
Lumbar myelopathy- This is the least common type of myelopathy, which affects the lower part of the spine, also known as the lumbar region.
Symptoms
When your spinal cord is compressed or injured, it might lead to loss of sensation, loss of function, as well as pain or discomfort in the area at or below your compression point. Some other symptoms of myelopathy include:
- Neck, arm, leg, or lower back pain
- A sensation of tingling, numbness, or weakness
- Increased reflexes in extremities or the development of abnormal reflexes
- Difficulty with fine motor skills, such as buttoning a shirt or writing
- Difficulty while walking
- Issues with balance and coordination
- Loss of urinary or bowel control
Generally, the exact symptoms depend on where in the spine the condition is present.
Causes
Myelopathy generally develops slowly due to the gradual degeneration of the spine, but it might also take an acute form or stem from a spine deformity that was already present at birth. The most common causes are generally degenerative spinal conditions, such as spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the bony passageways of the spine, through which the spinal cord, as well as the nerve roots, travel.
Central disc herniations may also result in compression on the spinal cord, which can lead to the development of myelopathy. Autoimmune disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis in the spine, may lead to degenerative changes as well, in the vertebrae which result in spinal cord compression and myelopathy.
Hernias, cysts, hematomas, as well as spinal tumors, including bone cancer, might also press on the spinal cord and lead to myelopathy.
Sometimes, acute myelopathy might also develop quickly due to spinal injury, spinal infection, inflammatory disease, neurological disorders, or even radiation therapy.
Diagnosis
Since the symptoms of myelopathy are not unique to the condition, your doctor is likely going to recommend the following tests for the diagnosis of the condition:
X-ray
An X-ray in order to rule out any other problems.
MRI
An MRI scan for a detailed look of the spine and spinal canal, which is able to show areas of stenosis.
Fluoroscopy
Fluoroscopy is used to reveal any abnormalities of the spinal cord. It is sometimes used instead of MRI for patients who are unable to sit inside the MRI machine.
Electromyogram
Electrical tests, such as an electromyogram might also be recommended. These tests measures how nerve stimulation in an arm, hand, leg or foot is connecting through the spinal cord to the brain.
In some cases, myelopathy is also added at the end of another underlying condition to indicate the involvement of your spinal cord. For example, your doctor might let you know that you are having cervical stenosis with myelopathy or thoracic disc disorder with myelopathy. Similarly, if your spinal cord is not involved, your diagnosis is going to say- ‘without myelopathy’.
If your myelopathy is caused as a complication of another disease, your doctor might refer to it in the terms of this disease. For example, diabetic myelopathy means that your spinal cord has been damaged due to your diabetes.
Treatment
Treatment is going to vary, depending on the type of myelopathy, how far the condition has progressed as well as the cause. For example, if a bacterial infection is the cause of your myelopathy, then treating the infection with antibiotics might treat the compression on the nerves. Some of the other possible treatments include:
A neck brace
Neck braces can provide support to your neck and also relieve pressure on the cervical part of your spinal cord. This is not going to remove the cause of the pressure, but it might delay the progression, and can also reduce the associated pain and symptoms.
Physical therapy
A physical therapist can help you with physical therapy exercises that might help to relieve pressure on your spinal cord.
Medications
Certain medications might help to reduce inflammation and also relieve symptoms. A steroid injection directly into the affected area is also an option for temporary relief.
Surgery
Surgery is also an option to remove any tumors or bone spurs or to repair herniated discs. It is the only treatment option that addresses the actual cause of the issue and may provide permanent relief.