The outcome of any successful spine surgery depends on choosing the correct patient, operating for the right indication, at the correct level, and on the correct side,” I said, attempting to alleviate the furrowed brow of a 50-year-old daughter, who had brought her ailing dad to see me for severe back and leg pain. “Of course, the surgeon also matters, but that’s the least important piece in the puzzle,” I went on to add, remembering my mentor, who used to say that any monkey could operate.

Rusi uncle was 84 and walked with his torso bent at right angles to his waist, almost parallel to the floor. This position allowed a pinched nerve in his spine to move away from a bony spur that was irritating it. The moment he tried to straighten up, he had lancinating pain. “Dikra, you do whatever you want, without any operation to get me okay. Spine surgery is very risky, and I don’t want to be dependent on anyone,” he said, with the loving authority of having lived life on his own terms.