The Hindu Business Line : New surgical techniques for Torticollis evolved

A city-based neurosurgeon has perfected techniques, which could bring smiles back on children suffering from Torticollis (short neck) and spinal injuries.

Dr Atul Goel, Neurosurgeon, KEM Hospital, can now set right problems associated with Torticollis among children and injuries to spine especially of the first and second vertebra.

Torticollis or short neck is a neurological ailment found in large number of children especially among the poor section of the society in India. There are no known conventional treatments for it except surgery, which itself has a very limited scope.

Dr Goel, who has been working on this for the last 20 years, has evolved surgical techniques, called Craniovertebral Realignment (CVR) for Torticollis and it is giving encouraging results.

Sometimes due to birth injury and poor nutrition, the first and second vertebra in infants gets compressed and which in turn pressurises the spinal cord and leads to twisted neck. Similarly in adults, if the first and second vertebra is injured then spinal cord is affected resulting in debilitating complications and weakness of the whole body, he said.

Conventional neurosurgery does not yield good results in such cases but CVR has shown remarkable improvement in patient condition. Says Dr Goel: "In the older treatment and the CVR method there is a conceptual difference. In the past, we use to operate through the mouth and remove the bones and the nerves of the vertebra to relive the pressure on spinal cord but now we open the vertebra and realign them to relive the pressure."

The first time Dr Goel had used CVR in 1987 and since then he has been refining it - today he has perfected 10 techniques for CVR.

He has performed more than 350 CVR operations with almost zero complications.

In recognition of his contribution, Dr B.C Roy National Award for excellence in medicine has been conferred on Dr Goel. The award has been given under the "Eminent Medical Teacher" category for the year 2003.