Expressnews
Chennai, June 26th, 2023: On the occasion of International Scoliosis awareness day observed on June 26th every year, Gleneagles Global Health City (GGHC), the largest facility of Gleneagles Global Hospitals, India rolled out free screening camps for school children across the city to detect spinal deformity. The Team of medical experts from the Institute of Advanced Spine Sciences, spearheaded by Dr Phani Kiran S, Senior Consultant & Lead – Spine Surgeon, Gleneagles Global Health City kickstarted the screening camp today at Shree Gugan’s School CBSE, Selaiyur and Loyola Matric Hr Sec School, Chitlapakkam.
The screening program aims to identify and address the problem at an early among school students and to reach out to around 10000 students studying in 5th standard and above from 25 schools in Chennai & Suburb in the next few months. The purpose of a scoliosis screening program is to identify students with spinal curvatures so that effective intervention can be taken for spinal deformity at a younger age.
Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine and is most often diagnosed in childhood or early adolescence. Every year, the month of June is observed as National Scoliosis Awareness Month. Spinal deformities characterised by abnormal curvature of the spine are usually found in children below 14 years of age. However, due to a lack of awareness and the absence of medical screenings, late presentation of the disease remains a major problem for children.
Dr. Phani Kiran S, Senior Consultant & Lead -Spine Surgeon, Gleneagles Global Health City , said that early identification of abnormality will pave the way for better treatment options thereby reducing the progression of deformity as the child grows.
“Awareness is minimal about scoliosis, and this is a major cause for late identification and delayed intervention of the condition. It must be detected in early adolescence. The recent innovations in spine care and technology-driven minimally invasive deformity surgery have helped in significantly improving the condition of patients,” he explained.
“ Screening for spinal deformity is a well-established procedure throughout the world. We lack thorough screening programmes in India, which results in the late presentation of the illness. The screening program launched by Gleneagles Global Health City aims to identify school students with spinal curvatures who will require further medical follow-ups. During the camp, we will also give free counselling for the parents, and the treatment process will begin as needed”, said Dr. Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City
