First Technology! Best Hope !! Total Care in Spine!!!

Wooridul Spine Hospital is hope in itself. W.S.H is the best place to help to relax both physically and mentally. W.S.H is not only a place for spine treatment but also a place to refresh  patients' mind that have suffered from degenerative spinal diseases.

Why W.S.H?

First Technology
It is a matter of pride and prestige for the highly trained, qualified and motivated medical staff of Wooridul Spine Hospital, that it is counted as one the best in the world, in spinal care and its our constant endeavour to innovate and inculcate the best practices in the treatment of spinal disorders..

Best Hope
Wooridul Spine Hospital is guided by the maxim that there is no incurable spinal disease or disorder. Based on that premise, all our actions and behaviour is oriented to put the patients mind at rest, so that they are psychologically assured and prepared and aiding in the treatment aspect.

Total Care in Spine
Speaking of spinal disorders, and the best hospital in the international scenario,that would spring in ones mind would be Wooridul Spine Hospital. We have the best and most qualifed doctors, trained and having overseas degrees and experience, plus loving and caring support staff.

Our facilites and equipments are world class and our medical staff keeps on innovating and coming out with newer and better techniques and treatment schedules and procedures. It is a matter of pride and prestige to the medical staff of WSH that it is regarded as one of the or the best spinal facility in the world. Accurate and precise diagnosis, world class treatement using latest methods and techniques marks us out, as the best among the best as we use technology coupled with loving patient care.

Some of our prominent skills are:

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy(PELD)
• Percutaneous Endoscopic Cervical Discectomy(PECD)
• Percutaneous Endoscopic Thoracic Discectomy(PETD)
• Percutaneous Endoscopic Laser-assisted Annulopalsty(PELA)
• Microscopic Laser Discectomy
• Laparoscopic Spinal discectomy and fusion
• Video-assisted thoracoscopic discectomy and fusion.

We are also equipped for:

• Pain Control
• Physical Therapy
• Spine Rehabilitation Exercises
• Spinal Function Improvement.

WSH place "Number One Hospital for Spinal Disease" by constantly developing new treatment methods and publishing them world wide.

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Center Details

Wooridul International Patients Center
It is one of the largest privately owned spine specialized hospitals in Korea. Following its inception in the city of Busan in 1982, Wooridul Spine Hospital (WSH) has taken great strides and established other spine care hospitals in the cities of Seoul, Gimpo Airport and Daegu. Jeju island WSH will be opened by year 2008.

The motto has been to provide total spine care, utilizing modern state of art diagnostics and operating facilities. The hospitals have a comprehensive spine care program that includes all investigational facilities as well as pain management and physiotherapy.

The last two decades have seen great developments in the philosophy of minimal invasive spine surgery. Reduced disability and discomfort are making them more popular with the local population. It establishes their techniques and simultaneously trains the local spine surgeons to propagate them further.

W.S.H is rapidly becoming recognized as one of the world leading authorities in spine care and treatment. With over 17,000 cases being performed annually among 3 centers (Seoul, Busan, and Gimpo Airport) W.S.H is the largest spine health care group in Asia. W.S.H has over 108 Spine Specialists, over 600 beds, 48 operation rooms among 4 centers (Seoul, Busan, Gimpo Airport, and Daegu). Throughout Asia, WSH has become recognized as a center of excellence in research for minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery techniques with over 100 clinical papers published up to date.

We have totally 6 branches of Wooridul Hospital:

Seoul Wooridul Hospital
ADDRESS: 676 Gwahae-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Korea
(inside og Gimpo airport)

Seoul Chungdam Wooridul Hospital
ADDRESS: 47-4 Chungdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea

Busan Wooridul Hospital
ADDRESS: 153-8 Oncheon-dong, Dongrae-gu, Busan, Korea

Dongrae Wooridul Spine Hospital
ADDRESS: 205-10 Nakmin-dong, Dongrae-gu, Busan, Korea

Daegu Wooridul Spine Hospital
ADDRESS: 503-3 2-ga Dongin-dong, Jung-Gu, Daegu, Korea

Shanghai Wooridul Hospital
ADDRESS: (No.46,Guo He Road) No.106, Shi Guang Yi Cun, Shanghai, China.
 
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Treatments & Prices

Surgical Procedure

Cervical

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Cervical Discectomy(PECD): a new procedure to shrink and remove a herniated disc. Using brief general (cervical) or local (lumbar) anesthesia and the help of x-rays for guidance, specially designed micro-instruments, the discectome and a laser probe are inserted into the herniated disk space, and a portion of the offending disk is removed with suction and then vaporization with a laser to shrink the disc further, instead of open surgery.
• Anterior cervical foraminotomy: This surgical technique was studied and practiced on cadavers before it was applied in living patients. The goal was to achieve direct and effective anatomical decompression of the spinal cord with maintenance of spinal stability, thus eliminating the need for bone fusion and immobilization.
• Cervical corpectomy and fusion: Displaced bony disk material will be removed from your neck. This displaced material is causing a problem by pressing on nerves. It will be replaced with bone taken from your hip or the fibula bone in your lower leg.
• Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF): Surgery for anterior cervical fusion is performed with the patient lying on his or her back. A small incision is made in the front of the neck, to one side. After a retractor is used to pull aside fat and muscle, the disc is exposed between the vertebrae.
• TDR for cervical spine: Initial surgical positioning was similar to that for a standard anterior cervical decompression and fusion. A roll was placed behind the shoulders and the head placed on a foam donut. The neck was extended slightly to facilitate exposure and an image intensifier was draped into the field.

Thoracic

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Thoracic Discectomy (PETD): PETD with laser is a minimally invasive surgical treatment for symptomatic thoracic disc herniation (TDH). It may also be known as: posterolateral thoracic discectomy; endoscopic laser thoracic discectomy; or endoscopic microdecompressive thoracic discectomy with laser thermodiskoplasty.
• Open Thoracic Microdiscectomy
• Thoracic corpectomy and fusion
• Thorascopic discectomy

Lumbar

• Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD) PELD is performed with the patient in the prone or lateral position on a radiolucent frame. A C-arm is positioned to ensure reproducible AP and lateral imaging.
• Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Foraminoplasty (PELF): PELF procedure is similar to percutaneous laser discectomy for the lumbar and cervical spine, and aims to widen the lumbar exit route foramina for lateral stenosis and disc protrusion.
• Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF): The first posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) was reported by Jaslow in 1946 when he utilized a bone peg that was placed within the lumbar interspace after discectomy. He augmented this with autogenous bone chips harvested from the posterior elements placed posteriorly.
• Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF): ALIF is an operation that involves approaching the spine through an incision in the abdomen. A portion of the affected disc space is removed from the spine and replaced with an implant. Titanium or stainless steel screws and rods may be inserted into the back of the spine to supplement the stability of the entire construct. Patients who are suffering from back and/or leg pain which are generally caused by natural degeneration of the disc space.

Open pedicle screw fixation (OPF)

• Percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPF): For a degenerative spondylolisthesis case, a blunt probe is inserted through the pedicle and into the vertebral body. Once the pedicle canals are prepared and the screw length determined, the screws are sequentially inserted.
• Percutaneous facet screw fixation (PFF): Posterior instrumentation is often performed to stabilize unstable vertebral segments, often as supplementation to an interbody fusion. The most commonly used posterior instrumentation system in use today is open pedicle screw fixation.
• Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF): Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) is an operation where the lumbar spine is approached from the side through an incision in the back. A portion of bone and disc are removed from the spine and replaced with an implant that is inserted into the disc space. Titanium or stainless steel screws and rods are inserted into the spine to ensure the stability of the entire construct.
• Percutaneous Vertebroplasty: Percutaneous vertebroplasty is the injection of acrylic bone cement (polymethylmethacrylate; PMMA) into the vertebral body through a trocar needle in order to relieve pain and/or stabilise the fractured vertebra and in some cases, restore vertebral height. Percutaneous vertebroplasty is usually performed under conscious sedation with local anaesthetic
• Kyphoplasty: Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure designed to stabilise and reduce pain from pathological vertebral compression fractures.
• Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET): IDET is performed by inserting a catheter with a thermal resistive coil at the end, into the affected disc. The coil is then heated, to 90, for 15 to 17 minutes, which kills the nerves causing the pain and also hightens the collagen fibres that form the wall of thedisc.

Total disc replacement (TDR)

The advantages of TDR over fusion, say proponents, are faster recovery time, less postoperative pain and the retention of full motion. This artificial disc will do for spine surgery what the artificial joint. The goal of the disc prosthesis is to relieve pain caused by problems and pinched nerves in the lower spine. The diseased disc is replaced by special metal and polyethylene implants.

Prosthetic disc nucleus (PDN)

• Cushion: These devices only replace the inner portion of the disc (the nucleus).
• Epiduroscopy: The first posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) was reported by Jaslow in 1946 when he utilized a bone peg that was placed within the lumbar interspace after discectomy. He augmented this with autogenous bone chips harvested from the posterior elements placed posteriorly.

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Qualifications, Accreditations & Certifications

Medical Staff

Ho Yeon Lee, M.D.,Ph.D.
Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : President 

Education 
College of Medicine, Seoul National University (M.D.)
College of Medicine, University of Ulsam (Ph.D.)
Internship at Seoul National University Hospital
Resident at Asan Medical Center 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Director of Legislation Committee & the 1st Spine Surgery Team at Wooridul Spine Hosptial 

Publication 
Key Engineering Materials, Vols. 284-286 (2005) pp 93-96
Preparation and In Vivo Studies of ß-TCP Based Bone
Cement Containing Polyphosphate (kyung-Sik Oh, Young-Keun Jeong, Jae-Pil Yu, Soo-Kyung Chae, Hong-Yeol Kim, Ho-Yeon Lee, and Sin-Soo Jeun)

Neurosurgery 55: E455-E459, 2004
Percutaneous Ventral decompression of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis in medically compromised elderly patients technical case report. (Lee HY, Ahn Y, Kim DY, Shin SW, Lee SH )

Spine. 2004 Aug 15;29(16):E326-32
Percutaneous Endoscopic lumbar discectomy for recurrent disc herniation:surgical technique, outcome, and prognostic factors of 43consecutive cases. (Ahn Y, Lee SH, Park WM, Lee HY, Shin SW, Kang HY)

J Neurosurg. 2004 Jan;100(1 Suppl):24-31
Intravertebral vacuum phenomenon in osteoporotic compression fracture: report of 67 cases with quantitative evaluation of intravertebral instability (Kim DY, Lee SH, Jang JS, Chung SK, Lee HY)

Eur Spine J. 2003 Dec;12(6):613-7
Comparative study of laparoscopic L5-S1 fusion versus open mini-ALIF, with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Chung SK, Lee SH, Lim SR, Kim DY, Jang JS, Nam KS, Lee HY)

Award 
Marquis Who's Who "Who's Who In Medicine and Healthcare" (2004 - 2006)  

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Won Gyu Choi, M.D., Ph.D.
Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Busan Korea
Title : President

Education 
College of Medicine, Pusan National University (M.D., Ph.D.)
Intern & Resident at Pusan National University Hospital
Visiting Fellow at Arizona Phoenix Barrow Neurological Institute, USA
Visiting Fellow at Bordeaux University Hospital Spine Center, France 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
President at Wooridul Spine Hosptial 

Publication 
J Spinal Disord Tech. 2003 Aug;16(4):324-30.
Partial disc replacement with the PDN prosthetic disc nucleus device: early clinical results. Shim CS, Lee SH, Park CW, Choi WC, Choi G, Choi WG, Lim SR, Lee HY. 

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Jee Soo Jang, MD, PhD
 
Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Gimpo Airport Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : President

Education 
Spine Fellowship, Dept. of Orthopedics, Spine Center State
University of New York, C, Syracuse
Ph.D. (Neurosurgery), Chung-ang University, College of Medicine
M.S.(Neurosurgery), Chung-ang University, College of Medicine
Bachelor, M.D., Chung-ang University, College of Medicine
 
Appointment 
Department of Neurosurgery, Gimpo Airport Wooridul Spine Hospital, Chief
Department of Neurosurgery, Wooridul Spine Hospital, Chief
Chief, section III(Spine), Department of Neurosurgery, Korea Cancer
Center Hospital, Chief, Pain Clinic, Korea Cancer Center Hospital
Medical officers, Chief Neurosurgeon, Department of Neurosurgery, Kwang   Joo Veterance Hospital
Resident in Department of Neurosurgery, Chung-ang University Hospital
Internship in Medicine, Chung-ang University Hospital
Graduation of Chung-ang University Medical School
Korean Spine Society
Korean Neurological Surgery Society
Korean Spine & Pain Research Society
North American Spine Society(NASS)
Congress of Korean Society for minimal intervention in Spinal Surgery Member
Executive secretary of permanent committee of Korean Society of Spine Surgery

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Won-Chul Choi, M.D. 

Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Daegu Korea
Title : President 

Education 
College of Medicine, KyungPook National University (M.D.)
Intern & Resident at National Medical Center 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Vice President of Medical affairs at Wooridul Spine Hosptial 

Society 
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS)

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Chan Shik Shim, M.D.

Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : Vice President

Education 
College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University (M.D.)
Intern & Resident at Kyung Hee Medical Center 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Vice President of Academic affairs at Wooridul Spine Hosptial
Clinical Professor at Kyung Hee Medical Center 

Society 
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS) 

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Byungjoo Jung, M.D.

Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : Vice President 

Education 
College of Medicine, KyungPook National University (M.D.)
Intern & Resident at Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Clinical Associate Professor at College of Medicine, Hallym University 

Society 
International Musculoskeletal Laser Society (IMLAS)
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS) 

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Gun Choi, M.D., Ph.D.

Specialty : Neurosurgery
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : President of Non-Invasive Spine Surgery Center 

Education 
College of Medicine, HanYang University (M.D.)
Intern & Resident at HanYang University Hospital 

Appointment 
Fellow of American Board of Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery
Fellow of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Clinical Associate Professor at Department of Neurosurgery, HanYang University
Vice President of Medical Affairs at Wooridul Spine Hospital 

Society 
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS)
Korean Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery
Executive Committee of Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Research Society 

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Ho Yeong Kang, M.D.
 
Specialty : Diagnostic Radiology
Hospital : Nakmin Wooridul Spine Hospital, Busan Korea
Title : President 

Education 
College of Medicine, Pusan National University (M.D.)
Intern & Resident at National Medical Center 

Society 
International Musculoskeletal Laser Society (IMLAS)
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS) 
 
 

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Kwang-Hee Kim, M.D.
 
Specialty : Anesthesiology
Hospital : Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul Korea
Title : Vice President 

Education 
College of Medicine, Chonnam National University
Intern at Samsung Cheil Hospital
Resident at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University
Visiting Fellow at UCLA Medical Center, USA 

Appointment 
Director of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Wooridul Spine Hospital
Director of Operation Anaesthesia at Wooridul Spine Hospital 

Society 
International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS)
Korean Pain Society
Korean Pain Research Society 

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Testimonials

"Whose spine is that?" I said to the radiologist, who replied, - "I'm afraid sir, it's yours."

It was the early 1990's in the United Kingdom, I had just had my first MRI scan, and as a medical practitioner I was allowed into the radiology office, and on the screen were images of a cervical spine which had considerable problems at several levels. To discover it was mine, gave me surprise and concern....

Dr Robert A Wells. M.B. Ch.B. B.Sc. (Hons). M.R.C.G.P. M.B.A. Pt I+II. D.Occ.Med

Read complete testimonial on Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Korea

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A Numbing Experience!

... Suddenly one evening I was out with friends and felt a sharp pain in my back. On going to bed I found that sleep was impossible and I spent most of the night taking hot baths and pain killers. The following morning I drove to work in great pain but could not get out of the car. I was carried from the car and taken to hospital where a slipped disc was diagnosed and I remained in hospital for four weeks undergoing physiotherapy and rest to attempt a recovery. This was a shock to my system because I had only been away from work for four days during my working life of forty-eight years.

Vincent Marsland. Continental Sime tyre (Malaysia) June 28, 2007

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Awards & Media Coverage

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