When selecting a spine surgeon, we advise patients to always ask the following questions.

Are you fellowship trained in Spine Surgery?

All spine surgeons (regardless of neurosurgeons or orthopaedic surgeons) must complete advanced fellowship training of at least 2 years in spine surgery.

Mr Yasin completed his advanced spinal training in Manchester as well as an international fellowship in complex spines at Brisbane, Australia recognized by the Royal College of Surgeons of Australasia. He has further developed his knowledge with experience visiting other spine centres in Australia as well as the USA and Europe including Bordeaux, France and Berlin, Germany.

Are you able to operate on all areas of the Spine including the cervical spine?

All parts of the spine work in harmony and a spine surgeon must be able to address all the parts of the spine including the neck (cervical).  Numerous surgeons do not operate on the cervical spine.

Mr Yasin treats all parts of the spine including the cervical spine.

Do you use a microscope routinely?

Many Surgeons use surgical loupes for spinal surgery. This gives poorer visualisation than a microscope, increasing the complication profile, especially when working around the delicate spinal cord or nerves.

Mr Yasin uses a spinal microscope for all surgeries that involve working around the spinal cord or its nerve roots.

What percentage of your clinical work is dedicated to treating Spine patients?

Many medical practitioners have a passing interest in spines with a large proportion of their practice dealing with cranial work (neurosurgeons) or lower limb work such as hips and knees as well as general trauma (orthopaedic surgeons). A specialized spine surgeon should have dedicated spine practice.

Mr Yasin has a 100% dedicated spine practice. All his private and NHS work as well as his elective and emergency workload consists of spine patients only.

Are you affiliated with a professional spine body?

Dedicated spine surgeons are affiliated with professional bodies in order to keep their knowledge up-to-date, share experience with their peers and to help expand the evidence based care in spine surgery.  These can be national bodies such as BASS (British Association of Spine Surgeons) and BSS (British Scoliosis Society) or International bodies such as AO Spine and SRS (Scoliosis Research Society).

Mr Yasin is a member of AO Spine and SRS. He is also only a select few spine surgeons in the UK who can be found on the SRS preferred specialist directory.

Do you perform any dual surgeon operating?

Spine surgery can often involve complex cases and for this reason it has been shown that certain cases benefit from being operated on my two consultant surgeons (dual surgeon). This has been shown to reduce the operating time and complications. Many spine surgeons do not routinely perform dual surgeon cases.

Mr Yasin’s practice involves dual surgeon cases and he regularly works with other eminent spine surgeons within the region.

Are your outcomes measured and compared with other surgeons?

Outcome assessment can include PROMS (patient reported outcome measures) and PREMS (patient reported experience measures). Due to the nature of spine treatments, surgical outcomes should be measured.

Mr Yasin measures PROMS and PREMS for his patients to ensure the highest standards of care are met.