Sino-German Webinar: New Ideas for Treating Thoracic Disc Diseases in Focus

On the afternoon of June 30, Prof. Luo Shixing's team from Beihai People's Hospital held a Sino-German video conference on Spine Surgery with Dr. Rosenthal, the Head of the Section of Spine Surgery at Reginal Hospital Bad Homburg (Germany), and Former President of German Spine Society, to exchange views on relevant issues in the field of spine surgery. Prof. Luo Shixing, Vice President of Beihai People's Hospital, attended and chaired the webinar. Prof. Chen Yuanming, Deputy Director of the Orthopedics Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University , shared the techniques of UBE. Prof. Wang Yingsong from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University acted as the interpreter.

On behalf of Beihai People's Hospital, Prof. Luo Shixing, Vice President of Beihai People's Hospital, extended warm welcome and wholehearted thankfulness to Dr. Rosenthal and all the attendees.

To gain rapid development, we attach great importance to international communication and collaboration by organizing international academic webinars. Today it is our privilege to have Dr. Rosenthal online with us, who is the Head of the Section of Spine Surgery at Reginal Hospital Bad Homburg and the former President of German Spine Society. Today he would give a lecture with the title of Diagnosis and treatment algorithm for thoracic disc disease, which will open up new ideas for treating thoracic disc diseases and bring better development opportunities for relevant research in our hospital. And we are sincerely hoping that we could have the honor to invite Dr. Rosenthal to visit us for on-site guidance in the near future.

Doctor Xu Mingguang from Beihai People's Hospital introduced the development of hospital and the overview of its Orthopedics in English.

Dr. Rosenthal said that he is honored to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic disc diseases with all the attendees through video conference. During the conference, Dr. Rosenthal shared his lecture Diagnosis and treatment algorithm for thoracic disc disease, and discussed with all the attendees with focus on the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic disc diseases.

The clinical symptoms of thoracic disc diseases not only include pain and neurological symptoms, but also visceral symptoms. The most complex cases may also involve other symptoms such as those of multiple sclerosis or coronary artery-related symptoms. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the polymorphism of the disease, identify the clinical symptoms of different segments and sites for diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Rosenthal reminds the surgeons to be wary of the life-threatening "Big five", including Miocardial infarction, Tension pneumothorax, Lung embolism, Acute pancreatitis and Arotic dissection. Surgeons may further examine patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests if the patient does not have the above “Big five”.

For patients who need surgery, Dr. Rosenthal usually performs thoracoscopic surgery. He has thirty years of experience in performing thoracoscopic surgery.

During his lecture, Dr. Rosenthal shared a paper he published in 2012. The study collected data from 167 patients who underwent thoracoscopic discectomy for the treatment of single-segment thoracic disc diseases over the past 10 years. It also documented the preoperative status of each patient as well as their follow-up status at 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. The study found that 2 years after operation, 79% of patients reported excellent or good pain relief, and 80% of patients reported excellent or good functional improvement. The overall complication rate was 15.6%. To date, Dr. Rosenthal's team has developed better results and lower complication rates compared to other centers.

Dr. Rosenthal's Summary

1.  Thoraic disc disease is not as seldom as published, the incidence of this disease is very high.

2.  Acute progression doesn't mean acute surgery.

3.  Despite the thoracic spine exists, asymptomatic cases do not need treatment.

4.  Don't forget, in addition to the cervical and lumbar spine, we need to focus on the thoracic spine as well.

The academic atmosphere of the conference was intense, combined with the problems encountered in clinical work, the attendees had a heated discussion over the surgical procedure and the approach options for treating thoracic disc diseases.

During the conference, Prof. Chen Yuanming, Deputy Director of the Orthopedics Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, shared his lecture UBE surgical techniques and prevention of complications.

Closing Remarks of the Sino-German Webinar on Spine Surgery

Prof. Luo Shixing, Vice President of Beihai People's Hospital

First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Rosenthal for sharing his insights in treating thoracic disc diseases and discussing a lot with us. We learned a lot from the detailed lecture and heated discussion.

It is a great pleasure that the Sino-German Webinar on Spine Surgery hosted by Beihai People’s Hospital comes to a perfect conclusion. We would organize more international webinars in the future to intensify academic exchanges between China and Germany. Thank you, Dr. Rosenthal for supporting the specialty construction and talent cultivation of our hospital via video conference. We envision more opportunities to talk to Dr. Rosenthal on the clinical expertise, research and administrative management in the field of Spine Surgery. We are also sincerely hoping that we could have the honor to invite Dr. Rosenthal to visit us for on-site exchanges and guidance.

Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Rosenthal again for your devotion to the webinar and thank you all for the discussion. Thank you Prof. Wang Yingsong for your accurate interpreting. I wish the attendees all the best.