FNB Spine Surgery: Admissions, Medical Colleges, Fees, Eligibility Criteria Details

FNB Spine Surgery or Fellow of National Board in Spine Surgery also known as FNB in Spine Surgery is a doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that they do after completing their postgraduate medical degree course. The duration of the FNB course is for 2 years.

FNB Spine Surgery aims to provide intensive training and broad exposure to the diagnosis, treatment and management of spinal disorders. The fellow will learn to evaluate and treat routine and complicated areas of the spine: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and lumbo-sacral, both surgical and non-surgical methods of treatment.

The course is a full-time course pursued at various accredited institutes/hospitals across the country, the top institutions include Apollo Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, and more.

Candidates can get admission to 2 years FNB course after successfully qualifying for the FET (Fellowship Entrance Test) examination which NBEMS conducts. FET is conducted annually as per the prescribed schedule. The merit-based counseling for admissions to the FNB Programme after the conduct of FET is administered by NBEMS.

The fee for pursuing FNB Spine Surgery varies from accredited institute/hospital to hospital and is Rs.1,25,000 per year.

After completing their respective course, doctors can join the job market. Candidates can take reputed jobs as research fellows, Senior residents, Consultants, etc. with an approximate average salary range of Rs. 6 Lakh to Rs. 99 Lakh per year.

The Nomenclature of the FNB qualification awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is “Fellow of National Board”. The FNB qualifications are recognized qualifications in terms of the Gazette notification dated 10th August 2016.

What is FNB in Spine Surgery?

FNB in Spine Surgery is a two-year doctoral fellowship program that candidates can pursue after completing a postgraduate degree.

The Spine Fellowship offers comprehensive exposure to adult and pediatric surgical treatments and procedures including complicated deformities and injuries to the spine, degenerative and arthritic conditions, infections, tumors, metabolic diseases, trauma, and fractures.

It builds a foundation for treating the whole range of surgical spine conditions, including deformity, using the most advanced methods and approaches. Upon completion of the Spine Fellowship, fellows are prepared to build surgical practices, focus more intensely on research, and teach at top academic medical centers and hospitals around the country and the world.

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has released a curriculum for FNB Spine Surgery.

The curriculum governs the education and training of FNB Spine Surgery.

Course Highlights

Here are some of the course highlights of FNB Spine Surgery

Name of Course	FNB Spine Surgery
Level	Fellowship
Duration of Course	Two years
Course Mode	Full Time
Minimum Academic Requirement	Candidates must have a postgraduate medical degree in DNB/MS Orthopaedics or DrNB/MCh Neuro Surgery obtained from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE, this feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022. For any further changes to the prerequisite requirement please refer to the NBE website.
Admission Process / Entrance Process / Entrance Modalities	Entrance Exam (FET) Merit-based counseling administered by NBEMS
Course Fees	Rs.1,25,000 per year
Average Salary	Rs. 6 Lakh to Rs.99 Lakh per year

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for FNB in Spine Surgery are defined as the set of rules or minimum prerequisites that aspirants must meet in order to be eligible for admission, which include:

Name of Fellowship course	Course Type	Prior Eligibility Requirement
Spine Surgery	FNB	DNB/MS Orthopaedics DrNB/MCh Neuro Surgery

Note:

· The feeder qualification for FNB Spine Surgery is defined by the NBE and is subject to changes by the NBE.

· The feeder qualification mentioned here is as of 2022.

· For any changes, please refer to the NBE website.

•There is no upper age limit for training in NBEMS Fellowship courses

Admission Process

The admission process contains a few steps for the candidates for admission to FNB. Candidates can view the complete admission process for FNB Spine Surgery mentioned below:

Fees Structure

The fee structure for FNB Spine Surgery varies from accredited institute/hospital to hospital. The fee is generally less for Government Institutes and more for private institutes. The average fee structure for FNB Spine Surgery is Rs.1,25,000 per year.

Colleges offering FNB Spine Surgery

Various accredited institutes/hospitals across India offer courses for pursuing FNB Spine Surgery.

As per the National Board of Examinations website, the following accredited institutes/hospitals are offering (FNB Spine Surgery) courses for the academic year 2022-23.

Syllabus

FNB in Spine Surgery is a two years specialization course that provides training in the stream of Spine Surgery.

The course content for FNB Spine Surgery is given in the NBE Curriculum released by the National Board of Examinations, which can be assessed through the link mentioned below:

1. Basic & Applied Sciences

• Anatomy

• Physical Examination

• Examination of Back Pain

• Radiologic Imaging of the Spine

• Diagnostic Evaluations

• General Considerations for Spine Surgery Including Consent and Preparation.

General Surgical Principles, Guidelines for Informed Consent, Patient

Positioning for Surgery, Equipment Needed, and Postoperative Considerations

• Surgical Approaches

• Cervical and Cervicothoracic Instrumentation

• Lumbosacral Instrumentation

• Bone Graft and Bone Substitute Biology

• Neurological Monitoring in Orthopedic Spine Surgery

2. Cervical Spine

• Closed Cervical Skeletal Tong Placement and Reduction Techniques

• Halo Placement in the Pediatric and Adult Patient

• Anterior Odontoid Resection: The Transoral Approach

• Odontoid Screw Fixation

• Anterior C1-C2 Arthrodesis: Lateral Approach of Barbour and Whitesides

• Anterior Cervical Corpectomy/Diskectomy

• Anterior Resection of Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

• Anterior Cervical Disk Arthroplasty

• Occipital-Cervical Fusion

• C2 Translaminar Screw Fixation

• Posterior C1-C2 Fusion: Harms and Magerl Techniques

• Lateral Mass Screw Fixation

• Cervical Pedicle Screw Fixation

• Posterior Cervical Osteotomy Techniques

• Posterior Cervical Laminoplasty

3. Thoracic Spine

• Anterior Thoracic Diskectomy and Corpectomy

• Anterior Thoracolumbar Spinal Fusion via Open Approach for Idiopathic

Scoliosis

• Operative Management of Scheuermann’s Kyphosis

• Resection of Intradural Intramedullary or Extramedullary Spinal Tumors

• Endoscopic Thoracic Diskectomy

• VEPTR Opening Wedge Thoracostomy for Congenital Spinal Deformities

• Posterior Thoracolumbar Fusion Techniques for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

• Thoracoplasty for Rib Deformity

• Complete Vertebral Resection for Primary Spinal Tumors

4. Lumbar Spine

• Sacropelvic Fixation

• Posterior Disk Herniation

• The Lateral Extracavitary Approach for Vertebrectomy

• Osteotomy Techniques (Smith-Petersen and Pedicle Subtraction) for Fixed

Sagittal Imbalance

• Spondylolysis Repair

• Surgical Treatment of High-Grade Spondylolisthesis

• Interspinous Process Motion-Sparing Implant

• Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

• Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

• Transpsoas Approach for Thoracolumbar Interbody Fusion

• Lumbar Total Disk Arthroplasty

• Kyphoplasty

• Minimally Invasive Exposure Techniques of the Lumbar Spine

• Hemivertebrae Resection

• Lumbar Internal Laminectomy

• Minimally Invasive Presacral Retroperitoneal Approach for Lumbosacral Axial

Instrumentation

5. Miscellaneous

• Spinal Cord and Nerve Root Monitoring

• Bone Grafting and Spine Fusion

• Medical Complications in the Adult Spinal Patient

• Trunk Range of Motion and Gait Considerations in Patients with Spinal

Deformity

6. Biomechanics

• General Considerations of Biomechanical Testing

• Basic Pedicle Screw and Construct Biomechanics.

• Biomechanics of Three-Dimensional Scoliosis Correction

• Treatment Considerations and Biomechanics of the Lumbosacral Spine

7. Spinal Anatomy

• Normal Sagittal Plane Alignment

• Microscopic Approach to the Posterior Lumbar Spine for Decompression

• Minimal Access Techniques Using Tubular Retractors for Disc Herniations and

Stenosis

• Anterior Cervical approaches

• Jaw-Splitting Approaches to the Upper Cervical spine

• The Modified Anterior Approach to the Cervicothoracic Junction

• Transsternal Approaches to the thoracic spine

• Anterior Exposure of the Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Down to L4

• Anterior Approaches to the Distal Lumbar Spine and Sacrum

• Direct Lateral Approach to the Lumbar Spine

8. Spinal disorders

• Cervical State of the Art Evaluation of Axial Neck Pain. Who is a Surgical

Candidate and Who Isn’t:

• How to Manage the Nonoperative Treatment, How to Work Up the Pathology

• Cervical Radiculopathy: Clinical Evaluation and Nonoperative Treatment

• Cervical Spondylosis and Radiculopathy

• Cervical Myelopathy

• Foramen Magnum Decompression disorders

• Revision of Cervical Spine disorders

• Thoracic and Lumbar Degenerative Disorders

• Evaluation of Thoracic and Lumbar Axial Back Pain

• Evaluation of Thoracic and Lumbar Radicular Pathology. Who Is a Surgical

Candidate and Who is not

• Use of Discography to Evaluate Lumbar Back Pain with an Eye Toward Surgical

Treatment

• Revision Laminectomy

• Techniques for Dural Repair

• When to Consider ALIF, TLIF, PLIF, PSF, or

• Motion-Preserving Techniques

• Motion-Preservation Techniques (Other Than Disc Arthroplasty)

• Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion/Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

• Spondylolisthesis

• Sacro-Pelvic Morphology, Spino-Pelvic Alignment, and Spinal Deformity Study

Group Classification

• Scoliosis

• Adult Spinal Deformity

• Dysplastic and Congenital Deformities

• Spinal Dysraphism—Embryology, Pathology, and Treatment

• Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome

• Congenital Anomalies of the Cervical Spine in Children:

• Paralytic and Neuromuscular Scoliosis

• Kyphosis and Postlaminectomy Deformities

• Ankylosing Spondylitis/Thoracolumbar Deformities

• Cervicothoracic Extension Osteotomy for Chin-On-Chest Deformity

• The Role of Osteotomies in the Cervical Trauma

• Spinal trauma – cervical, thoracic and lumbar

• Tumor and Osteomyelitis

• Neurological Complications

• Reconstruction of Complex Spinal Wounds

• Vascular Complications

• Postoperative Early and Late Wound/Implant Infections

• Cerebrospinal Fluid Fistula and Pseudomeningocele

• Pseudarthrosis in Spinal Deformity Surgery

• Legal Implications and Unresolved Postoperative Spine Pain

• Medical Complications Associated with Spinal Surgery

• Syringomyelia

• Computed tomography (CT)-based navigation

• Fluoroscopy-based navigation

• Fluoroscopic 3-D navigation.

• Interspinous devices

• Degenerative/rheumatic disorders and deformities

9. Surgical instruments and implants

• Anaesthesia and positioning

• Surgical technique

• Postoperative management

• Errors, hazards, and complications

• Treatment principles in rheumatoid instability of the cervical spine

10. Biomechanical characteristics of different non-fusion methods

• Dynamic stabilization system (Dynesys) versus rigid fixators

• Interspinous implants (X-Stop, Coflex, Wallis, Diam)

• Total posterior-element replacement system (TOPS)

• Total disc prostheses

• Prosthetic disc nucleus (PDN)

• Tissue-engineered collagen matrix nucleus replacement

• Biostatistics, Research Methodology and Clinical Epidemiology

Career Options

After completing FNB Spine Surgery, candidates will get employment opportunities in Government and the Private sector.

In the Government sector, candidates have various options to choose from which include Junior research fellow, Teaching at academic medical centers, and Consultants.

While in the Private sector, the options are Fellow (Spine Surgery), Junior Research Fellow, Senior Research Fellow (Spine Surgery), and Consultants.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) –FNB Spine Surgery Course /FNB in Spine Surgery Course

Answer: The full form of FNB is a Fellow of National board.

Answer: FNB in Spine Surgery or Fellow of National Board (FNB)/Fellow of National Board - Post Doctoral (FNB-PD) Spine Surgery is a post-doctoral fellowship program for doctors in India that they do after completion of their postgraduate medical degree course.

Answer: FNB in Spine Surgery is a doctoral fellowship program of two years.

Answer: The candidate should have DNB/MS Orthopaedics or DrNB/MCh Neuro Surgery degree from any college/university recognized by the Medical Council of India (Now NMC)/NBE. The prerequisite requirements mentioned here are as of 2022. For any further changes, please refer to the NBE website.

Answer: FNB Spine Surgery offers candidates various employment opportunities and career prospects.

Answer: The FNB Spine Surgery candidate’s average salary is between Rs. 6 Lakh to Rs.99 Lakh per year depending on the experience.

Answer: Yes, the candidate can teach in a medical college/hospital after completing the fellowship.