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Event witnesses participation from the Honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu Thiru. Banwarilal Purohit

The International Spine and Spine Injuries Conference (ISSICON 2018) focused mainly on the importance of prevention, care and clinical management of Spinal Cord Injuries

Chennai, 6th October, 2018: More than 300 national and international Spine Care Specialists congregated in Chennai for ISSICON 2018, a three-day International Conference on Spine Injuries. The event held for the first time in Chennai, was heralded as a great success by leading national and international names in the field of spine surgery and related fields.

Spinal cord injury is a devastating life-altering illness that happens due to accidents because of falls from heights or road traffic accidents. In India, the focus has always been on acute hospital care and there are some excellent facilities for this. When it comes to rehabilitation, there is a serious lack of information and availability of centres.

Focusing on the theme ‘Spinal Cord Injury Care in Emerging India’, ISSICON 2018 mainly delved upon building awareness on injury prevention, pre-hospital care, treatments provided and rehabilitation. The main aim of organising the conference in Chennai is to sensitise the medical and paramedical professionals, policy makers and community in this region on the dire need for setting up rehabilitation services for the Spinal Cord Injured.

“There is a long list of unanswered questions and controversies surrounding the management of spinal ailments”, said Dr. H.S. Chhabra – Chairperson ISSICON 2018, Secretary of the Spinal Cord Society and President of the International Spinal Cord Society. “We see a strong need to disseminate the right information on the recent advances in this space, and it is with this in mind that ISSICON is organised each year. Deliberations amongst eminent faculty members from around the globe and from around India provides an excellent forum for trying to achieve these objectives”.

ISSICON 2018 witnessed interesting workshops and panel discussions, including a special interaction about Spine Rehabilitation with Actor and Singer Shruthi Hassan. The conference also witnessed speeches from eminent spine specialists including Dr. A.K. Mukherjee (Director General,Indian Spine Injuries Centre) and Dr.Suranjan Bhattacharji (Former Director of CMC Vellore).

An interesting panel discussion took place on the topic ‘Factors contributing to the Challenge in Spine Trauma Care in Tamil Nadu State’, moderated by Dr. G. Balamurali – Organising Chairman ISSICON 2018, Senior Spine and Neurosurgeon at Kauvery Hospital.

The evening ceremony will witness a speech by the Chief Guest, Honourable Thiru. Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Notes to Editors:

About ISSICON 2018:

Tamil Nadu ranks in the top amongst Indian states as far as Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) are concerned, and it is a distinction that the state cannot be proud of. In 2015 alone, Tamil Nadu registered a total of 69,059 accidents, nearly 14 per cent of all road accidents in India. A large proportion of people surviving injuries sustain some type of temporary or permanent disability. This in turn is bound to have a depressive repercussion on the person’s life through the loss of personal space, independence, individuality and personal relationships. Most victims are of the male gender, usually below 40 years of age and are the main breadwinners of the family. This paralyses the entire family’s resources and puts then into poverty, isolation, divorce, depression, suicide, loss of child education and loss of job.  It is also a huge socio-economic downturn with loss of productivity for the country with young work force being trapped within four walls because of their disability and with little help from the government or society.  The disabled also requires a period of rehabilitation to gain new skills to survive and work for a living.  Unfortunately, having no dedicated centers with such facilities in India is also a serious concern for the medical community. Several governmental, non-governmental organizations are constantly working hard towards increasing awareness on safety but in vain.  Education and awareness is an integral part of prevention and hence ISSICON 2018 is focused on bringing together all concerned medical professionals in one place to share knowledge and learn how to manage persons with spinal cord injuries.