Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Achieves 170,000 Cumulative Spinal Intervention Procedures

The Spine Intervention Team of the Department of Radiology at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 18th that they have achieved a cumulative total of 170,000 spine intervention procedures. Since starting procedures with the hospital's opening in 2003, the team reached 100,000 procedures in October 2016 and surpassed 170,000 this year, marking the hospital's 20th anniversary. Over the past six years, they have performed 10,000 procedures annually.

Medical staff at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital held a ceremony to celebrate reaching 170,000 cumulative spinal intervention procedures.
[Photo by Bundang Seoul National University Hospital]

Spine intervention procedures include various treatments necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal diseases. The most representative is spinal injection therapy. This non-surgical treatment is performed on patients with severe pain from herniated discs or spinal stenosis, using imaging equipment such as angiography devices, CT, and ultrasound that allow visualization inside the body. Since thin instruments are inserted into the lower back for treatment, the body is not incised, minimizing complications.

The Spine Intervention Team at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital uses angiographic equipment during procedures. It provides higher resolution images than the commonly used 'C-arm' imaging device, enabling precise procedures. Additionally, they perform various spine intervention procedures such as biopsies for diagnosing spinal tumors and infections, vertebroplasty for spinal fractures, cerebrospinal fluid examination and chemotherapy drug injection, and epidural blood patching.

Professor Lee Young-jun from the Department of Radiology is performing a spinal intervention procedure.
[Photo by Bundang Seoul National University Hospital]

Under the leadership of Professors Lee Jun-woo and Lee Young-jun from the Department of Radiology, continuous research is being conducted, with over 150 spine-related papers published since the hospital's opening. Professor Lee Jun-woo said, "I am pleased to see the result of continuous efforts since the hospital's opening, achieving a cumulative total of 170,000 procedures," adding, "We will not be satisfied with this and will continue to develop various procedures for patients through steady research." Professor Lee Young-jun stated, "As society ages, the number of patients complaining of spinal pain is increasing," and added, "Our goal is to provide more satisfactory medical services to patients by offering accurate diagnosis and customized treatment according to the patient's condition and disease."

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