Spinal Neurosurgeon Expert, M.D Keun-Su, Kim
- Director of Gangnam Severance Spinal Hospital, Spinal Neurosurgery
- Treatment Director of Gangnam Severance Spinal Hospital
- Exchange Professor in Emory University Spinal Center, USA
- Trained at Hokkaido Japan Medical School, Spinal Center
- 2004 International Society of Back and Spine, the 1st Academic Award


Recently, spinal diseases have rapidly increased compared to 20 to 30 years ago. The 70 to 80 % of spinal diseases are degenerative diseases and it is approved in many researches that most of
spinal diseases  are disc herniation and spinal stenosis and 70% of acute disc herniation is spontaneously cured.

Due to aging and increasing elderly population, spinal diseases are expected to skyrocket. We interviewed a spinal neurosurgeon expert, Dr. Keun-Su, Kim,
Spinal Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and got very useful information about the spinal disease.

Basic Principles of Treatments 
Spinal herniation so called disc heals by time unless patients have paralysis or
feces disorder. 70% of acute disc herniation is spontaneously cured.
‘Acute’ means within 3 months from the onset date. Physiotherapy, pain control and medications are temporarily prescribed for pain relief. We initially try conservative treatment for 2 months but if the patients still remain the same,
we consider a surgical procedure. 
The basic principles are as the same as it was in the past. We avoid invasive procedures as much as possible and surgeries are performed when the
non-invasive therapies are not responded.


World’s Top-class Korea’s Spinal Surgery
Korea’s spinal surgeries are definitely world’s top-class. That is probably because of the Korean’s national character that easily and promptly adapts new technology and the usage of modification and development is also faster than another countries. In particular, the minimal invasive treatments are more developed than Japan where has world-class spinal surgery techniques.


Management of Quality of Life after Surgery; Exercise, Quitting Smoking & Weight Control
Spinal surgeries do not mean ‘complete recovery’ but the improvement of the quality of life. Ageing tissues are not reproductive so body weight control after the surgery is very important. Management refers to the betterment in life environment. Amongst life style management, steady exercise, quitting smoking and body weight control, these three conceptions, are very important. Especially, quitting smoking is essential because smoking accelerates ageing 20 times faster than non-smoking. Patients’ mind control that this disease coexists with me is also important.
The stress, thinking ‘I must get rid of this problem.’ lowers your immunity.
Thus constant managements are good for patients.


Enormous Experiences and Specialized Treatment System
We perform 2,000 cases of spinal surgeries per year. I, myself, do about 750 cases. This record is no. 1 in spinal surgery cases in general hospitals in Korea.
We have the specialized system by the types of diseases such as cervical spine,
tumors, deformity, minimal invasion, injuries and degenerative diseases.
It refers to the fact that Gangnam Severance Spinal Hospital is very well organized. Our best strengths are vast amount of clinical surgery
cases especially, high degree of surgery cases and the specialized
departments.


Competitiveness of Medical Power
In other countries, single hospitals rarely have 10 neurosurgeons. We have 6 specialists in the neurosurgery department and 4 specialists in the orthopedic department.  In addition, we organize the symposium with UCSF (USA), Keio (Japan) and PKU (China) and the comparison with the level of their surgery, USA and Japan are equivalent to Korea but China is way behind us and either is Singapore. 

However, the downside of Korea’s medical competitiveness is that the language barrier and unfamiliar environment even though we have the world’s top-class medical technology. The globalization of hospital system and national medical system should be the first factor to gain world’s best medical competitiveness.
Gangnam Severance Hospital has dispatched neurosurgeons to 121 hospital,
US forces in Korea and has been responsible for their spinal health for the
last 30 years.”


Capabilities of Being a Good Neurosurgeon
Firstly, performing a good surgery means diagnosing a right disease before a surgical technique. Secondly, during the surgery, a neurosurgeon should be
able to control the pace and tempo of the surgery. In particular,
spine spreads nerves through the body these capabilities are very important.


The Hospital Where Fosters Korea’s Next Neurosurgeons
Our future plan is that the specialties and expertise developed by far are to be more concrete. Gangnam Severance Hospital is a mecca of spinal diseases.
The neurosurgeons who we have taught are nationwide and now teach another medical students and neurosurgeons. We will constantly support them in
academic researches to let them lead Korea’s spinal medicine