When it comes to back pain and nerve-related issues, many people think of major surgery and a long recovery period.

With innovation and a team that’s truly ready, S Spine and Nerve Hospital — a specialty hospital for spine and neurological conditions — was born to solve exactly this problem.

Drawing on years of experience in specialized medicine, Dr. Dittapong Boon-Amphol, Director of the Spine and Nerve Specialty Hospital and expert surgeon, initiated the founding of this dedicated treatment center to directly address these conditions — helping patients recover faster, with less suffering and lower risk.

What first inspired you to establish this hospital?

“It was a dream of mine.”

(The doctor said it with a laugh and a smile.)

“Before this, I worked as a physician at several leading private hospitals. The nature of treating this kind of condition involves a lot of advancement and requires many specialized tools. What I found was that when you’re working in a hospital that treats many different diseases, the resources and equipment they invest in get distributed across many departments equally. A general hospital is like a duck — it can do many things, but never excels at any one of them. So I had this dream: I wanted to open something of my own. Focus on one thing. Take what I was truly passionate about — the spine — and do it better than anywhere else. Push it to the absolute limit.”

(His eyes lit up as he spoke.)

“Because that way, we could eliminate the problem of spreading investment and resources thin, as I mentioned, as well as management challenges — and instead channel everything into being the very best at one thing, achieving excellence in every dimension.”

“At first, we started as a clinic before expanding into a hospital. The response was so strong that the growth into a full hospital became possible. Once we became a hospital, we designed everything specifically for this condition — from the architecture to the equipment we purchased to the staff we hired. We don’t need to do everything. We focus on one area and become more skilled than those who spread themselves across many. Even the nurses assisting in the operating room and the radiographers are trained directly in this field. And we succeeded in what we set out to do: becoming a fully integrated specialty hospital for spine and neurological care — the first and only one of its kind in Thailand today.”

 

Could you walk us through the overall purpose behind why this hospital exists?

“Our philosophy is that we want to build the best hospital for treating spine and neurological conditions in Thailand. That is my dream. As for our clinical philosophy — the way we approach treating patients here — it comes down to this: we must find and treat the root cause of the problem, using modern technology, to achieve faster recovery, greater safety, and lasting healing for our patients.”

“For example, we see many patients who come to us from various places saying they have back pain, they take painkillers, and once the medication wears off, the pain comes back. What we find is that they were never treated at the root cause — they were given pain relief, which only suppresses the symptom, not the source of the disease.”

“Suppose you have a problem with a herniated disc pressing on a nerve. Taking medication alone will only relieve the pain temporarily. Once the medication wears off, the pain returns. So our philosophy is: find the cause, fix it at the source, and achieve lasting recovery. We also incorporate technology into this. For example, in herniated disc cases — in the past, treating the root cause meant surgery, possibly with metal implants. Now, we simply use a laser to create a tiny needle-sized hole, and for more severe cases we use an endoscope. The incision is no more than one centimeter. The patient stays just one night. The risks of infection or disability are much lower — and the cost is lower too, because it’s just one night in hospital.”

“Most of our patients who come to us are able to avoid major surgery altogether — which benefits everyone. The patient experiences less trauma, greater safety, and lower cost. The family worries less. The doctor has greater peace of mind, because there are far fewer complications.”

“Everything works because of good management and modern technology. The benefits flow back to society, to patients, to our staff, and to myself as well. When our team continues to develop, we can achieve everything more easily. When treatment outcomes are good, when communication is warm and attentive, everyone is happy in their work — staff across every department. We encounter very few complaints from patients, so the team works comfortably, because the system supports them. As a result, our staff turnover rate is extremely low.”

“Even when patients sometimes have to wait for the doctor, they understand what they came for and what they’re going to receive — so they’re willing to wait. But while they wait, we educate patients about their condition. We place a great deal of importance on this, because we believe that treatment isn’t just about treating the disease — it’s about treating the person. Patients must know and understand what they have and how to care for themselves. That also makes it easier for our staff to work here.”

“On top of that, when we built this hospital, we placed no limits on resources. Anything that benefits spine treatment, we brought in. There are many pieces of equipment here that are modern and cutting-edge, and would not be cost-effective to purchase elsewhere. But since our philosophy is to be the absolute best, we made it our mission to have them.”

“For instance, the Navigator system — a guidance navigation system — laser equipment, endoscopic cameras, and a surgical table designed specifically for spine surgery. At other hospitals, they wouldn’t buy these because using them for just one specialty wouldn’t justify the cost, and they take up space that could be used for other departments. We don’t just purchase one set of surgical instruments either — we purchase multiple sets, so that patients face lower risk, the team can work efficiently, and if one instrument fails, we can switch it out immediately. So our core principle is this: achieve the highest quality possible. We believe that if we make ourselves truly excellent, people will come to see us.”

 

In terms of Thai people’s understanding of back pain compared to the rest of the world — how does it differ?

“In truth, back pain and nerve compression in Thailand are quite similar to what you find elsewhere in the world. Normally, humans were not built to walk on two legs. In the past, we were four-legged creatures, and eventually we stood upright on two legs. Before, the body was horizontal, and weight was distributed across four limbs — say a body weight of 100 kilograms, that’s 25 kilograms per leg, which is still a relatively low load. But once humans stood on two legs, each leg bears 50 kilograms. And whereas the spine used to run horizontally with relatively little compressive force, now that we stand upright, the entire body weight passes down through the spine, placing enormous pressure on it. It is fundamentally an evolutionary problem — our bodies cannot fully withstand the forces that come with walking on two legs.”

“Because right now, humans are still in the process of evolving, with the vertebrae gradually fusing to better support that weight — but it’s still not complete. So walking upright is one of humanity’s structural weaknesses. It manifests in two main ways: first, the spine, because it bears far greater compressive force and degenerates more easily — discs herniate more readily. Second, the knees, because the load shifted from being divided by four to divided by two, so they take on much more weight and wear down faster. These are the weak points of the human body.”

“So people all around the world share the same vulnerabilities: the knees and the back. The difference is in how severely each person or each ethnic group is affected. Thais are actually fortunate in that we tend to be less severely affected — because we’re generally slimmer, and our build isn’t particularly tall, so the compressive forces are lower. Compare that to certain other groups, such as people from the Middle East, who tend to be shorter and heavier, which leads to a much higher prevalence of these problems.”

Simply put — as lifestyles change, the diseases change with them.

“Exactly. In the past, insomnia wasn’t very common, because people worked hard physically and fell asleep easily. Now insomnia is everywhere. Obesity was rare before, because people did heavy physical labor and burned a great deal of energy. There were mainly muscular aches and back pain. Today we have obesity — and on top of that, we have constant smartphone use and computer-based work, which put the body in poor postures and make pain far more likely. That’s what we call Office Syndrome.”

“The problem is that in the early stages, there’s just stiffness and discomfort. It gradually worsens over time until the degeneration reaches the point of compressing a nerve. By then, it’s been building for ten years. Trying to reverse it at that stage is very difficult. Ideally, it should be addressed from the very beginning. In summary, Office Syndrome is a silent threat that tends to be addressed too late — by which point it’s serious and difficult to treat. When the bone is pressing on the nerve, paralysis becomes possible. Arms and legs can weaken. The hands can lose strength.”

What sets this hospital apart from others? How is it different?

“We are a specialty hospital. We believe that knowing one thing deeply and becoming truly expert at it produces results — just like the old saying. This hospital focuses exclusively on one specialty, with a dedication to research and academic advancement in spine and neurological disease. We’ve only been a hospital for one year, but in truth we have been a clinic for many years before that — accumulating experience, gaining the recognition of people who saw value in what we were doing, who helped us, came together to form a team. And as I mentioned, both the people and the resources are here, alongside treatment approaches that are genuinely at the forefront of technology — to deliver outcomes that are different. Anyone who has felt constrained by not being able to work fully in their specialty — here, everyone gets to give everything they have.”

(The doctor laughed again.)

“Take our surgical nurses as an example. They are trained directly in spine care. Before, when they worked at general hospitals, they would be sent to assist with deliveries, abdominal surgeries, and all sorts of other procedures, which diluted their expertise. Here, they do this and only this. They are trained exceptionally well. As a result, the staff here are genuinely specialized — they see a symptom and immediately know what condition it’s pointing to. When it comes to patients in the ward, they can identify which nerve is causing which symptom — almost like a physician. Because they’ve been trained with such depth. If the slightest abnormality appears, they can alert the doctor immediately. Having staff like this also reduces patient injury and suffering. The doctor’s work becomes easier. The risk is lower.”

“Compare this to the old way: traditional surgery required a hospital stay of one to two weeks, followed by months of rehabilitation before full recovery. Here, most patients stay just one night and go home the next day. Patients can walk immediately after the procedure. That is our distinguishing strength. And the difference in complication rates is substantial — because of three things: one, the expertise of the physician; two, the technology; and three, the expertise of the team. All three matter equally. If any one of them is missing, the full potential cannot be realized. Even if the doctor is highly skilled, if the care team is lacking — it falls apart. So we must take care of the entire chain, from beginning to end.”

 

Could you give us some examples of the innovations at this hospital?

“This place is distinctive from the design itself. We hold to a principle of blending technology with human care. In the past, there was a belief that if something is hi-tech, it won’t be hi-touch — and if it’s warm and caring, it probably isn’t very hi-tech. Here, we bring both together. You can see it in the environment — if you pay attention, from the moment you walk in, every point has an idea behind it. It wasn’t simply a matter of hiring a designer to make it look nice. Every space reflects innovation and intention. And you can see that while it is clearly a hospital, it is designed very differently from others.”

“From the moment you enter, the feeling is almost like walking into a hotel or a resort — because the image patients had before was one of fear whenever they approached a hospital. But here, when they step inside, they feel at ease. And once they go deeper into the hospital, it feels like a spacecraft — because we want people to feel that beyond the warmth and comfort, we are thoroughly modern: in our service, our diagnostics, and our treatments.”

“Our examination rooms display imaging on a large screen so patients can see their own problem in real time — not just receive a written report to read.”

“Even every sign, every wall, every surface cycles through video clips for clarity and to provide knowledge. Every visual touchpoint has something unexpected about it. We are a hospital built on ideas, filled with innovation — specifically for spine patients. Because everything communicates the nature of our treatment: that it is unlike anywhere else. It communicates the care and attention we give, and the doctor’s treatment philosophy, which centers on innovation — to elevate ourselves to a world-class standard. We are now confident competing with any center in the world, and in fact about half of our patients are international. That speaks for itself. Thailand is also recognized globally as a Medical Tourism destination. We didn’t create the technology ourselves — others invented it — but we apply it with the greatest possible effectiveness.”

“We generate no small amount of revenue for the country.” (The doctor laughs.)

“As for the equipment we use for treatment, our focus is this: technology that has been proven to be the best from every corner of the world, we bring it here. We have equipment from America, Europe, Sweden, China, Japan, South Korea — all of it. Whatever works best and is genuinely effective. As I mentioned, our aim is to do whatever it takes to avoid major surgery. Using a laser to create a tiny hole and treat the condition from there, for example. Or endoscopic surgery. Navigation-guided treatment, both for precision targeting of the treatment site and for the latest-generation X-ray equipment — which can be set up with special mechanisms and controlled remotely, eliminating a great deal of potential error. All of these tools serve our patients exceptionally well.”

In summary, this is a one-stop center of complete readiness in this field

“I’d rather call it an Excellence Center — a center of excellence in spine and neurological care. From the words of patients who have been treated here, the most common thing they say is: this is the choice of those who choose wisely. Patients who have done their research well, tend to come to us.”

That sentence is perhaps the finest summary of the doctor — a man who had the courage to reshape the way spine and neurological conditions are treated, and did exactly that.