What services do you provide?
Wooridul Hospital established in Busan in 1982, has been trying to be the world's leading spine hospital with the state of the art equipment and technology.
Based upon minimally invasive treatment principle, Wooridul Hospital has investigated and developed various spine treatments to act up to patient's expectation for minimal scars and fast recovery. As a result, Wooridul Hospital has performed nearly 55,484 spine procedures including both open and minimally invasive approaches and accomplished academic achievement by publication of 26 papers in SCI journals of worldwide authority in 2007.
These results were achieved by the integrated cooperation of a multi disciplinary team including: neurosurgeons; orthopedic surgeons; internal medicine physicians; rehabilitation physicians; and thoracic and general surgeons.
This integrated team and over 1,000 employees of Wooridul Hospital have contributed to the health and welfare of the patients and their families over 26 years together. In addition, we would mostly like to attribute our success in retaining our position as the world's best hospital to the love and concern of patients from all over the world who trust and approve our treatment philosophies and surgical techniques.
Based on the present achievements, Wooridul Hospital is going to expand into new areas not only for the general spine disorders but also for the metastatic spine cancers and other joint disorders and start operating in foreign country.
In January 2008, Wooridul Hospital opened a brand-new clinic at Gimpo international airport and it will be a center of medical belt among Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo to be a leader of medical service in Asia.
With the state of the art equipment and technology, Seoul Wooridul Hospital in Gimpo international airport is located in right place for overseas patients only taking 2 hours from Hongqiao international airport in Shanghai and Haneda international airport in Tokyo as an ideal hub hospital forming Far-East Asian medical belt.
We will do our best to inform advanced medical treatments and technologies all over the world as a world-leading spine hospital. Surgical technique
Wooridul Hospital offers Total Care Solutions of Neuro-Musculoskeletal system including:
- Endoscopic Spine Surgery
- Microscopic Spine Surgery
- Laser-Assisted Spine Surgery
- Image-Guided Spine Surgery
- CT-Guided Spine Surgery
- Artificial Disc Replacement
- Anterior/Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion
- Laparoscopic Surgery
- Thoracoscopic Surgery
- Soft Stabilization with Ligamentoplasty
- Vertebroplasty / Kyphoplasty
- Deformity Correction
- Joint (Hip, Knee and ankle) Surgery
- Non-Surgical Offerings include
- Rehabilitation
- Pain Management
- Internal Medicine
- Conservative care
- Physiotherapy
Our Services are included:
- Online and Offline Consultation
- Call Center Assist: Reservation and Support
- Setting up Visiting Plan & Cost Consulting
- Assisting Korean Visa Issue
- Interpreter and 1:1 escort service
- Airport Pick-up and Transfer Service
- Introducing Long Term Stay Institution
Wooridul Hospital - The Specialized General Hospital with Spine Total Care System
The World Leading Spine Hospital of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
1. Incomparable Pioneer
Wooridul Hospital established in Busan in 1982, has been trying to be the world’s leading spine hospital with the state of the art equipment and technology. Based upon minimally invasive treatment principle, Wooridul Hospital has investigated and developed various spine treatments to act up to patients’ expectation for minimal scars and fast recovery. Wooridul Hospital manages directly each hospital in Seoul Gimpo Airport, Seoul Chungdam, Busan Onchun, Busan Dongrae and Daegu and has the most advanced medical technology and equipment of the digitalized surgery, the non-surgical treatment and the rehabilitation treatment. Recently, Wooridul Hospital opened Shanghai Wooridul Hospital in China and will have expansion to Turkey, UAE and Spain as well as Jaeju Island.
Wooridul Hospital which opened a brand-new clinic at Gimpo International Airport takes a roll to be a center of ‘ShangSeTo Medical Belt’ among Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo to be a leader of medical service in Asia and to inform the advanced medical treatments and technologies of Korea all over the world. Based on the present achievements, Wooridul Hospital is emerging as the Neuro-Musculoskeletal Disease Center not only for the general spine disorders but also for the metastatic spine cancers (using 4th generation cyberknife) and the joint disorders (using computer assisted navigation). Wooridul Hospital always holds stick to the minimally invasive philosophy to save the normal tissues, minimize the excision and reduce the complications. With these untiring efforts, Wooridul Hospital provides ‘Spine Total Care System’ as a specialized general hospital in the united over 1,200 employees including 130 doctors.
2. The World Best Hospital of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Wooridul Hospital drew public attention by developing the world’s first discectomy using endoscopic laser. Minimally invasive spinal surgery is judged to be a great success in lumbar, cervical and thoracic treatment area. According to the research result in 2002 from the 19 international spine specialized centers that perform minimally invasive spinal surgery, Wooridul Hospital has performed 8,000 cases and took the first ranking.
The most common disease treated by minimally invasive spinal surgery is lumbar disc herniation. The soft lumbar disk herniation is defined as when the annulus fibrosis surrounding disc between the vertebral bodies is torn and the nucleus pulposus is herniated so that it could compress the nerve root and spinal cord. It could cause either back pain or leg pain.
The conventional open surgery is performed under the naked eye that it requires a huge incision. Meanwhile Wooridul Hospital’s Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery (MISS), like as Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD), is not conventional excision but a treatment which is between the conservative and open surgery. With the 0.6cm of endoscope, the surgeon could observe the inside with safety. Patient is in prone position under the local anesthesia so as to communicate with the surgeons and nurses. Microlaser is precise enough to make a 0.3mm spot between fingerprints. PELD preserves vertebrae and normal nucleus pulposus and removes only the lesional site so that there is no risk of evoking the neural adhesion. In addition, it is bloodless surgery and no transfusion is required. It saves the time and the costs. Due to rapid recovery compared to open surgeries, it is desirable for the workers or students with the desire of early return-to-work.
3. Non-Surgical Treatment
Wooridul Hospital also has developed the new treatments for spine disorders without surgery.
‘CT-image Guided Spinal Micro Therapy’, the newest injection therapy, is safe, fast and accurate, because of using the multidetector CT (MD-CT) and 3-dimentional multiple image system. Monitoring with the real-time computer navigation, medicine is inserted only into lesion exactly. Wooridul Hospital succeeded this therapy the first in Korea.
X-MRI is the World’s first system, which combines the interventional X-Ray and MRI that enables doctors to scan sectional views of the spine. With the aid of X-MRI, the proper surgical pathway can be decided through the MRI, and since the disc can be removed by endoscopic laser right after the decision, the success rate of minimally invasive treatment can be increased very high. Also complication rate is very low since the result of the treatment can be checked before the completion of the treatment.
4. Team Diagnosis and Team Surgery System
Wooridul Hospital improved the surgical and non-surgical treatment in each way of success rate and a period of recovery, because of continuous investment for the advanced equipment and 5 complete diagnostic steps.
In order to reach for 99.9% success rate after treatment, at least 4~6 spinal surgeons constitute a team diagnosis and treatment system to care for each patient. Wooridul Hospital holds a Grand Tele-Conference every Friday morning and connects each of the regional Wooridul Hospital with live interaction and sharing of information. This interactive program provides real time exchange of up to date medical treatment and experience which improves patient care.
5. Constant Scientific and Clinical Efforts
We have performed million cases of clinic and research, and this great store of experiences and trials makes the accurate diagnosis and the finest treatment. Generally, journals demonstrate that these clinical experiences and trials are well organized and analyzed.
Wooridul Hospital places ‘The Number One Hospital for Spinal Disease’, by constantly developing new treatment methods, publishing and presenting them world wide. This is a class academic achievement for the field of spine as signified by publishing over 17 SCI journals per year. The Journal of Critical Spine Case (JCSC) published as a first issue in November 2008, specialized in spine.
JCSC focuses on various cases of spinal disease that have not been easy to diagnose and treat, it will be published twice a year (May and November) and distributed to the best medical institutions at home and overseas, such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA Spine Center, and etc.
6. Sharing Treatments and Knowledge with World
Wooridul Hospital has instructed foreign spinal surgeons of the world, such as USA, Europe and etc, in the latest medical treatments through invited lectures and seminars.
Since 1993, we have educated 650 spine specialists from 60 countries about advanced treatments through conferences and training programs. We have also provided foreign doctors (from Japan, India, China, Egypt, Israel, Brazil, Singapore and others) with 6 months to 1 year fellowship program with the aim to spread the advanced spine treatments worldwide. Moreover, we are spreading the advanced medical technology abroad through video-conference and live surgeries.
As a result, Wooridul Hospital was assigned as the international train center of minimally invasive surgery by International Musculoskeletal Laser Society (IMLAS) and International Society for Minimal Intervention in Spinal Surgery (ISMISS).
We have exported not only medical technique but also medical equipment to advanced countries. For instance, Ito Hospital in Japan recently opened MISS center after handling down the advanced medical technologies and equipment by Wooridul Hospital.
7. A Special Service for Foreign Patients
There has been incessant inflow of foreign patients with spinal diseases from all over the world to Wooridul Hospital. Patients form USA, Canada, China, Japan, France, England, Brazil and etc visited Korea and underwent treatments and went back their countries with great satisfaction. 1017 foreign patients from 56 various countries have visited our hospital in a single year of 2008 and about half of these patients were reported to have made their decision upon the recommendations of the other patients and doctors who have visited Wooridul Hospital previously.
Wooridul Hospital established ‘Wooridul International Patients Center (WIPC)’ to provide a better medical service and make foreign patients easy to come. WIPC provides consultation and agency business to foreign patients by four different languages as English, Japanese, Chinese and French.
8. Foreign Press Highlights Wooridul Hospital
Wooridul Hospital has attracted the entire world’s attention as one of the world best spine hospital.
The New York Times introduced and highlighted excellent medical tourism services at Wooridul Hospital in a recently published article titled, “South Korea Joins Lucrative Practice of Inviting Medical Tourists to Its Hospitals.” The article was published on November, 16th of 2008.
The Nikkei Business, a leading economic magazine in Japan, also highlighted advanced medical care and equipment at Wooridul Hospital on April 16th of 2009, the special issue for 40 years anniversary. Wooridul Hospital is also watched by the other foreign press with interest, such as NHK, Seven Hills (Japanese magazine).