Operation Straight Spine 2017: Another Successful Mission Delivers Spine Care to Those in Need

Spinal surgery at the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital during OSS 2017.

For ten consecutive years Operation Straight Spine (OSS) has been performing complex spinal surgeries for Indian patients who cannot afford or do not have access to treatment of their spinal deformities or diseases. In 2017, Dr Jeffrey McConnell and a team of specialists from the United States, England and India returned to the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Kolkata, India to treat patients of all ages suffering from a variety of spinal conditions.

Operation Straight Spine 2017 team members from the USA, India and England.

Supported by generous donations from companies such as Globus Medical Inc., Implanet, and Nuvasive Spine Foundation the OSS team was able to provide state-of-the-art implants and equipment for their surgeries.  Emirates Airlines Foundation was kind enough to donate the airline tickets for all team members which provided a huge boost to the project’s operating budget.

The youngest patient treated during this year’s trip was just 18 months-old and suffered from a congenital scoliosis.  The oldest patient was a 63 year-old woman with a painful and severe case of spinal stenosis with a slipped vertebra in the lumbar spine.  Other cases treated during the two week mission trip included adolescent scoliosis, early onset scoliosis and tuberculosis of the spine.  The work was challenging and all surgeries were successful in their outcomes and proved to be a truly life-changing experience for the patients.

Dr. McConnell with three of the patients treated as part of Operation Straight Spine 2017.