July 26, 2020 – 00:41
Interview with the neurosurgeon doctor.
–
The more than 100 days of quarantine generated a series of reactions. One of them is the search to generate good moments, at home. Not being able to go out and share with friends, avoid family gatherings, and even having limited outlets for shopping, prompted the replication of these shared actions at home. Thousands of recipes flooded the phone messages and took shape in the home and apartment kitchens. To the diets loaded with sweets and fats, the little desire to carry out physical activities was added. In dialogue with El Tribuno, Dr. Leonardo Faila warns that if preventive measures are not taken in time, the quarantine in these circumstances will begin to generate injuries to the spine and mobility of people in the short term.
Before the pandemic, it was already difficult to adopt physical activity, and now with more than three months of isolation, what are the pathologies that patients may present?
Paradigms and ways of working changed. There are things that will never be the same. Today, the patient who works outside, returns home to do schoolwork with the children. Before they had little time and now even less. Home office users end up with the computer in bed or on a kitchen bench. In these times we are seeing many patients with low back pain, due to sedentary lifestyle and weight gain. There are key words with which patients are describing their pain. For example: “I got up suddenly and my waist area started to hurt”, “I get up and my spine hurts but then it goes away”. That has to do with inactivity. Although the topic of going to the gym changed, you can use the YouTube tutorials and also accompany with a new diet. Lack of care in the diet is also something that is affecting. Roasts, pasta, desserts, and also the increase in alcohol consumption do not help. Remember that alcohol is metabolized into glucose, which makes you fat. Some drinks are more caloric than others.
How is the care of the Column Center?
The Column Center is a space specialized in patient care not only in Salta but also in other northern provinces of the country, such as Jujuy and Santiago del Estero. This medical space has its focus on the problems of scoliosis, herniated discs and spinal fractures. The Center was born as a place where the patient can come with her spinal problem and achieve a comprehensive diagnosis. Imaging studies that the patient requires will be managed. Physiotherapy and kinesiotherapy care is also provided, as well as highly complex interventions or surgeries.
What is the team that integrates the Column Center?
It has an interdisciplinary team of kinesiologists, clinical doctors, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, rheumatologists. And at this point it should be noted that rheumatology and traumatology are two different specialties. The rheumatologist treats bone mass and diseases that affect it such as osteoporosis or rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia. While orthopedic neurosurgeons see the structural part as a herniated disc, fracture, or scoliosis, either in adults or in children.
These medical needs care have no age limit …
The pathologies in children and adults are different. In children, as soon as it is born, it is necessary to carry out the controls to detect a spina bifida, which is when a child is born with its spinal cord open. In these cases, the intervention should be done immediately. Some children can also present scoliosis, and then in the pathologies of the young and the adult, what predominates is the herniated disc or contractures of the lumbar area. The first is the one that is operated. In older adults, the most attended pathology is osteoarthritis, fractures of the spine due to decalcification.
Photo: Pablo Yapura
In the Column Center, medical checks are also done.
Yes. In the case of children, it is very important to detect cases of scoliosis early. Another parental concern is the weight of the backpacks. Inter-consultations are also carried out. In some cases patients undergo surgeries in Buenos Aires, but the recovery is done here. There are also the cases of those seeking a second opinion. In the north, the Spine Center is a benchmark for minimally invasive surgeries, which have shorter hospitalization times, with laser techniques, which return the patient more quickly to her activity.
Spinal surgery should no longer create fear …
For many years, spinal surgery was taboo. But in the last 15 years much progress has been made in what is technology. There is a large sample of images such as MRIs, high-resolution ultrasounds and there is operative neurophysiological monitoring that is in charge of a clinical neurologist who guides us at the time of surgery. Many people are also afraid of anesthesia, and this procedure is safe. It should be borne in mind that in Salta a large number of surgeries are performed that require this procedure, so that practice is becoming safer every day, due to the training that professionals have given the number of daily practices.
It also works with 3D …
When the pathology is very complex, we work with a biomedical engineer who receives the images of the area, creating a model that emulates the patient’s pathology. These 3D impressions are then practiced before reaching the patient. This is very practical and safe.
Do the solidarity days continue in the Column Center?
Due to the pandemic, we maintain this attention in turn, maintaining all the care required to avoid the proliferation of cases of COVID-19. Until now there have been no patients with symptoms and they are asked to attend alone or accompanied by a family member, who must wait outside. Solidarity care is offered on Thursdays and Fridays, for spinal problems and on Tuesdays with clinical medical attention, which are all general pathologies from headaches to routine check-ups. We understand that the health system is limited and sometimes mild cases turn around and that is why we maintain this care, which is added in the same way to patients with social work. Always taking turns.
The contact numbers for the Column Center are:
by Whatsapp
3875163430
landline
42421167
And through the web at:
or on Facebook
– Column Center
– Dr Fila
–
