Dr. Balamurugan Thirugnanam

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam is a Consultant in Spine Care at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road and Manipal Clinic, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, with 13 years of experience in robotic spine surgery, spinal deformity correction, minimally invasive spine surgery, revision spine surgery, and complex cervical and thoracolumbar procedures.

He won 6 gold medals during MBBS at Madras Medical College and a gold medal in MS Orthopaedics at Safdarjung Medical College Hospital, New Delhi, and holds MRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

He is a core member of the Manipal Institute of Robotic Spine Surgery (MIRSS) and serves as course coordinator for the Fellowship in Spine Surgery at Manipal Comprehensive Spine Care Centre.

Whether you are looking for a spine surgeon, robotic spine surgery specialist, spinal deformity correction expert, or revision spine surgery doctor in Bengaluru, Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam brings premier academic credentials and active published research in robotic spine surgery to his practice.

He consults in English, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, and Telugu.

Specialty Areas and Treatments

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam provides comprehensive spine care covering robotic spine surgery, spinal deformity correction, minimally invasive procedures, degenerative spine disease, revision surgery, and complex cervical and thoracolumbar conditions.

Robotic Spine Surgery in Bengaluru

He is a co-author on multiple published MIRSS studies covering accuracy of robotic pedicle screw placement across 750 patients and 3,924 screws, pinless robotic techniques, cervical robotic procedures, and S2 alar-iliac screw insertion.

• Robotic-assisted thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement using Mazor X Stealth Edition
• Pinless robot-assisted thoracolumbar spine surgery
• Robotic-assisted cervical pedicle screw fixation
• Robotic S2 alar-iliac screw insertion for spinopelvic fixation
• Robotic-assisted kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty
• Robot-assisted revision thoracolumbar fusion surgery

Spinal Deformity Correction in Bengaluru

He co-authored the world-first reported case of robotic-assisted correction of cervicothoracic deformity in Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

• Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis correction
• Adult spinal deformity correction
• Cervicothoracic deformity correction
• Kyphosis and lordosis correction
• Robotic-assisted deformity surgery for complex anatomies including NF1

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Bengaluru

• Minimally invasive discectomy for disc herniation
• Minimally invasive TLIF and PLIF
• Percutaneous pedicle screw fixation
• Cervical spine surgery including anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Degenerative Spine Disease in Bengaluru

• Lumbar disc herniation and sciatica management
• Cervical disc herniation and myelopathy
• Degenerative disc disease surgical management
• Lumbar canal stenosis decompression
• Spondylolisthesis including high-grade spondylolisthesis management
• Non-operative management of spinal disorders

Revision and Complex Spine Surgery in Bengaluru

• Revision thoracolumbar fusion surgery
• Failed back surgery syndrome management
• Complex revision spine instrumentation with robotic guidance

Spinal Tumours and Infections in Bengaluru

• Spinal tumour surgery
• Spine infection and tuberculosis management
• Rosai-Dorfman disease of the spine (published case)
• Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures

Hospital Affiliations in Bengaluru

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam currently practises at two Manipal locations in Bengaluru:

• Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road. Consultation Fee: ₹1300
• Manipal Clinic, Indiranagar. Consultation Fee: ₹1000

Credentials and Trust Signals

Qualifications

• MBBS, Madras Medical College, Chennai (2013)
• MS in Orthopaedics, Safdarjung Medical College Hospital, New Delhi (2017)
• DNB in Orthopaedics, National Board of Examinations, New Delhi (2017)
• Senior Residency in Orthopaedics, AIIMS, New Delhi (2017-2019)
• FNB in Spine Surgery, Manipal Hospitals (2021)
• MRCS, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK

Awards and Recognition

• 6 Gold Medals in MBBS, Anatomy, Physiology, Ophthalmology, Preventive Medicine, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics
• Gold Medal in MS Orthopaedics, Delhi University (2019)
• Torrent Young Scholar Award in Orthopaedics (2017)
• 1st place, AIIMS All India Ignite Mediquiz in Orthopaedics (2017)
• 1st place, National Zerodol Quizzard Challenge in Orthopaedics (2017)
• Top Scorer in FNB Spine Surgery National Examination

Memberships

• AO Spine
• Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI)
• International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SICOT)
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRCSEd)

About Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road

Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road houses the Manipal Institute of Robotic Spine Surgery (MIRSS) and the Manipal Comprehensive Spine Care Centre, one of India's leading robotic spine surgery programmes.

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam is a full-time member of this team and serves as course coordinator for the one-year Fellowship in Spine Surgery offered in affiliation with Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

Clinical Experience

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam completed his MBBS at Madras Medical College, Chennai and his MS in Orthopaedics at Safdarjung Medical College Hospital, New Delhi before completing his Senior Residency in Orthopaedics at AIIMS, New Delhi.

He joined Manipal Hospitals for his FNB in Spine Surgery in December 2019 and has continued as a full-time Consultant at the Manipal Comprehensive Spine Care Centre since completion.

He serves as course coordinator for the Fellowship in Spine Surgery programme at MIRSS and is a core surgical member of the MIRSS team under Dr Vidyadhara Srinivasa.

Research and Academic Contributions

Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam has 21 published research papers with 44 citations on ResearchGate, contributing to robotic spine surgery literature across multiple journals. Key publications include:

• Robot-assistance in revision thoracolumbar fusion surgeries in 64 patients, Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma (2025)
• Robotic-assisted correction of cervicothoracic deformity in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 — world-first reported case (2025)
• Evaluating pinless robot-assisted spine surgery in 750 cases and 3,924 screws, Asian Spine Journal (2025)
• Evaluating accuracy of robotic-assisted thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement in 410 patients and 2,600 screws, Journal of Craniovertebral Junction and Spine (2025)
• Robotic-assisted cervical pedicle screw fixation with custom instruments in 22 patients and 206 screws (2025)
• Technical nuances of robotic-guided S2 alar-iliac screw insertion, Neurosurgical Focus Video (2025)
• Extended uses of robots in spine surgery beyond thoracolumbar pedicle screws: narrative review, Journal of Robotic Surgery (2026)
• Preemptive analgesia in lumbar spine surgery, European Spine Journal (2025)
• Flattening the learning curve in robotic-assisted pedicle screw placement, Journal of Orthopaedics (2024)

He has presented papers at Global Spine Congress 2021, ASSICON 2021, and SICOT 2021.

Book an Appointment with Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam

To check consultation fees and book an appointment with Dr Balamurugan Thirugnanam at Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road or Manipal Clinic, Indiranagar, visit HexaHealth.