Spine TB: Is Surgery Mandatory For This Disease?

Tuberculosis (TB) is usually perceived as a disease affecting the lungs primarily. However, this disease also affects other body parts (extra-pulmonary tuberculosis) and can hit people of every stratum, whether rich or poor. According to medical research, around ten per cent of tuberculosis patients in India suffer from extrapulmonary tuberculosis, mainly in bones and the spine. Sr. Consultant Spine Surgeon Vamsi Krishna Varma Penumatsa, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, says these numbers constantly rise, primarily because of ignorance, lack of awareness and information, helping the disease spread silently. It mainly spreads to the other parts of the body through the bloodstream. Usually, the ends of long bones and the vertebrae are common sites for extra-pulmonary tuberculosis because of their rich blood supply. The type of pain also depends on tuberculosis's exact location. For instance, in the case of spinal tuberculosis, the pain in the lower back is so severe that the patient ends up seeking medical treatment. Understanding The Symptoms However, tuberculosis can be cured without complications if proper medical attention is received and the ATT (Anti Tubercular Treatment) is started on time. Patients with tuberculosis in the spine might or might not exhibit generalised signs of tuberculosis, such as fever, fatigue, night sweats and unexplained weight loss. Although about half of all patients with spine tuberculosis also have infected lungs, the disease is usually not active in the lungs. This also means that most patients with spinal tuberculosis do not suffer from coughing and probably do not suspect that they have tuberculosis. Also, patients with spinal tuberculosis are generally not contagious because the disease spreads through coughed-up active virus particles. Spinal tuberculosis is deep-seated in the boned and epidural space, so a timely and complete course of treatment is essential for a complete cure. Unlike tuberculosis of the lungs, spinal tuberculosis needs a little more prolonged duration of therapy on the severity of infection. In case of spinal tuberculosis, bed rest, a good diet, medicines, and physiotherapy can help you return to everyday life. Therefore, ignoring symptoms or taking them for granted is not advised. Always remember, like tuberculosis of the lungs, and spine, it can also infect other body parts, including the brain and kidney. Surgery Surgery for spinal tuberculosis is routinely not required. It is specifically indicated in patients with paralysis, severe hump (deformity) and in conditions with more bony destruction causing instability in the spine. Modern surgical treatment's goals include: Removing dead tissue. Pulling compression on the spinal cord. Correcting hump. Rigid fixations in the unstable spine.