Chennai Health Infrastructure/ Hospitals/ Medical tourism/ Health Research - Discussions & Updates

[TShyam]

CHENNAI: After a 14-hour deep brain surgery, doctors at the Apollo Specialty Hospital have managed to correct the twisted neck of an Iraqi-patient Ghassan Mohd.

Mohd was diagnosed with torticollis, a chronic neurological movement disorder that causes a twisted neck. Mohd's head was turned to one side and his chin to the other. Doctors at the hospital performed deep brain stimulation, a surgical procedure that implants a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. A fortnight after the surgery, doctors say Mohd faces people with his head straight and has regained 60% of his voice.

When Mohd came to the hospital, he complained that he could not read books, watch TV or drive. The disease left him with a limited range of motion of the head. He had headaches, tremors and neck pain. "Medicines were not effective. He did not show improvement with botox injections as many muscles were involved. Surgery was the only option," says Dr R Ramanarayan Consultant Neurosurgeon, Apollo Hospitals.

Experts say that the disease is eiher inherited or acquired as a result of damage to the nervous system or muscles. "In Mohd's case it was probably congenital," said Dr Ramanarayan. The incidence of torticollis, said experts, is very rare and occurs in 0.3-2% of the population.

In infants, the treatment for congenital torticollis involves stretching and positioning of the shortened neck muscle. These treatments, said doctors, are usually successful only if started within three months of birth. Doctors usually advise surgery in preschool years if other treatment methods fail. "The condition is easier to correct in infants and children. If the condition becomes chronic, numbness and tingling may develop, as the nerve roots tend to get compressed in the neck. Mohd's case was complicated because of his age," said doctors. They also added that there is not known method of preventing the disease. Early treatment is the only way to prevent worsening, doctors said.

During the procedure on Mohd, doctors inserted permanent electrodes into his brain to stimulate its parts. Deep brain stimulation has been successfully used in various conditions like Parkinsonism, essential tremors, some psychiatric disorders and cases of pain.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/7829410.cms

[bonoslack7]

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle1596040.ece

Chennai-based Dr Mehta's Hospitals – Chetpet, including Mehta Children's Hospital, was recently awarded the NABH Accreditation by the Quality Council of India.

The 75-year-old super-specialty hospital, has over 60 specialties including Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics, Laparoscopic Surgery, Oncology, Neonatology and Neuro-surgery.

The hospital is all set to launch in T.Nagar, National Highway 4 and Red Hills.

[bonoslack7]

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...ai/635376.html

Omega healthcare, a premier offshore provider of medical coding and billing, is poised for expansion in the city, besides Bangalore and Chennai. "Omega Healthcare Management Services is to set its footprint at Tiruchirapalli from April 6 this year and operations will commence in June. A Rs 6 crore investment has been budgeted for basic infrastructure," P V Guruvayurappan, Associate VP-HR of the Bangalore based company, said. In addition, a blueprint has been drawn up to expand operations in Bangalore and Chennai, he said. Working on medical billing and coding and other aggregators of precision and hospital revenue cycle business on behalf of a host of companies, most of them located in US, Omega has huge facilities at Bangalore and Chennai, with a total headcount of over 2,800. Guruvayurappan said the six-year old company has been maintaining a consistent 30 to 35 per cent growth rate in the last three years. Other locations across South and South East Asia are also on the cards for expansion, he said.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/for...e-in-sri-lanka

Fortis Malar Hospital Ltd, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare (India) Ltd, has taken over the operations and management of the cardiac centre at the Oasis Hospitals Ltd, located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. With this initiative, Fortis Healthcare has expanded its presence in Sri Lanka for the first time and added to the existing facilities in India and other countries. The Colombo-based centre has been renamed as Fortis Oasis Cardiac Centre, Fortis Malar Hospitals said.

At present, Oasis is a 170-bed facility and the plan is to provide tertiary-level treatment and care in cardiology and cardiac surgery, with the support of Fortis Malar. The centre will reportedly have top-notch cardiologists and cardiac surgeons of Colombo. Also, it will be equipped to cover all aspects of cardiac care ranging from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. Incidentally, Oasis Hospital offers medical services with special focus on oncology, general medicine, paediatric and Gynaecology.

“We are very happy to expand our presence in Sri Lanka and in partnering with Oasis Hospital. This addition is in line with our strategic objectivities to expand our reach and provide access to quality healthcare to communities at affordable costs,” said Krish Ramesh, zonal director of Fortis Healthcare Ltd.

Fortis Malar Hospital Ltd (formerly known as Malar Hospital), was acquired by Fortis Healthcare (India) Ltd in early 2008. Located in Chennai, Fortis Malar is a 170-bed facility and focuses on such areas as cardiology, cardiac surgery, orthopaedics, nephrology, gynaecology, gastroenterology , paediatrics and general medicine

[bonoslack7]

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...hy/637667.html

Insisting that early detection of breast cancer can help in curing,Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, today said Full Field Digital Mammography with Tomosynthesis (3D) can help detection at earlier stages. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of FFDM here, Reddy said diagosing breast cancer at early stages needs greater technology and FFDM with Tomosysthesis is the latest in technology. "This is the first time in India, this technology FFDM with Tomosysthesis is being introduced," he claimed. This technology, Jack Cummings of Hologic, said was effective to detech finer lumps in younger women with denser breasts, since the technology helps the physician look into smaller lumps in between the many layers of breast tissues. FFDM releases lesser radiation than the conventional screening, he claimed.

[Vicvin86]

image hosted on flickr

Madras Medical College by VinTN, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr

GH Madras by VinTN, on Flickr

[seku]

Even GH named after RG. It looks like, after Anna, RG's name is slowly making it into all streams of Chennai.

Anyways, exterior looks good for GH standards. How about interiors?

[Vicvin86]

Its because his body was kept in GH morgue. Never been to GH so no idea about interiors.

[TShyam]

CHENNAI: Doctors and white coats. For years, the white coat has been the iconic symbol of doctors. But, the state health department may restrict the use of white coats for doctors at government hospitals as the coats have been shown to increase infection rates.

A recent study by the liver transplant team at Government Stanley Hospital showed that doctors' coats, ties and stethoscopes carried mircrobes including superbugs,' which are antibiotics-resistant bacteria. It showed that even if doctors follow stringent handwash protocol, the microbes may settle down in their sleeves, watches, finger rings and ties.

As part of a pilot study, doctors in the team were then asked to use disposable aprons and gloves or simply be naked below the elbow. They washed their hands thoroughly, separated patients with infections, restricted visitor entry and ensured clean air flow in sterile wards. Patients who came to the hospital with infections or who had developed them at the hospital were shifted to a septic ward to prevent others from getting infected. The department reduced infection rate by 80% in six months and reduced antibiotic prescriptions to 6%, says pathologist Dr Rosy Vennila, who worked on the project. "It's a practice we are now addicted to," she said.

In other wards of the hospital the use of antibiotics is at least 70%. The team submitted its recommendation for infection control in all government hospitals. It has said that doctors must be allowed to hang their coats. "We may ban white coats in all government hospitals. It's safe to prevent than cure," said health secretary VK Subburaj, on the eve of the World Health Day. The theme for this year is anti-microbial resistance, and international agencies like WHO have called for action.

At the Global Hospitals, for instance, doctors in the hepatology unit remind staff nurses to use antiseptic sanitisers. "There is a nurse on duty just to do infection audits," said Dr Olithselvan, hepatologist, Global Hospitals. If patients are infected, most hospitals are now insisting on a blood culture test to ensure they are giving the right antibiotics. "When we choose the right antibiotic, we kill the bug. If we don't, there are chances we will teach the bug to fight some drugs," said Apollo Hospitals medical superintendent Dr Bhama. "In some cases, giving wrong antibiotics can be fatal," she said.

Hospitals say that rules for infection control are constantly evolving. For instance, Apollo hospital has only selectively restricted white coats. They are not used in intensive care units. Apollo wants to do away with white coats in wards, too. "But coats have for long been identified with doctors. We fear it may become difficult for patients identify doctors in a crowded ward," said Dr Bhama.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/7888103.cms

[seku]

for years they might not have washed it...

[venkatm]

Originally Posted by seku

Even GH named after RG. It looks like, after Anna, RG's name is slowly making it into all streams of Chennai.

Anyways, exterior looks good for GH standards. How about interiors?

I have not been inside GH but during a TV news broadcast about a year or so back, they showed that relatives of patients had occupied all staircases and corridors because they do not want to pay and stay in nearby lodges. It looked very dirty and messy like the CMBT.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.thehindu.com/health/article1700037.ece

The historical lack of formal teacher training for doctors may yet be reversed by recent trends offering degree and diploma courses for medical educators across the globe, Eamonn MM Quigley, past president, World Gastroenterology Organisation, said.

Very few doctors have had formal training as teachers, Prof. Quigley, who is with the University College, Cork, Ireland, explained. Teaching is a skill, and recent teacher training programmes that have emerged try to bring modern techniques into education, with a special focus on the intricacies that medicine demands. More and more countries are adopting such methods in order to teach their doctors to teach medicine, he added.

This is precisely what the WGO attempts to do with its ‘Train the Trainers' programme — correct the deficit of a formal training as educators. The first session of the WGO's TTT was held for the first time in Chennai, between April 10 and 14, for about 50 gastroenterologists. Some of the aspects that were dealt with during the session, conducted in association with the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, included modules on adult education, teaching techniques, how to conduct high quality research, and evidence-based medicine.

Prof. Quigley's colleague at the WGO, its current treasurer David Bjorkman said the programme was a huge success and the discussions that took place were of the highest quality. The WGO was an organisation of national societies of gastroenterologists with the goal of improving digestive health across the world.

Twenty-five of the 50 participants were from India, according to conference chairman K.R. Palaniswamy. Though the response from professionals was overwhelming, the number of participants was deliberately kept to a low 50 in order to provide the kind of interactions and discussions that is an essential part of a WGO TTT.

The TTT will also be followed by a two-day continuing medical education (CME) programme to be held on Saturday and Sunday, conference organising secretary V. Balasubramanian, said. The lessons of the TTT programme would be encapsulated in a single session during the CME, he said.

Other issues that will be discussed are emergencies in gastroenterology, abdominal injuries, obscure gastrointestinal bleeds, chronic pancreatitis, dysphagia, and liver tranplants. A live workshop on endosonography and endobronchial ultrasonography will be held parallelly at the Apollo Hospital, he added.

[bonoslack7]

http://news.in.msn.com/national/arti...mentid=5126856

The British Deputy High Commission and UK Trade and Investment have evinced interest to work closely with DD Hospital and Medical College, a self-financing Medical College at Kunnvalam in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.
Payal Satish, Trade and Investment Adviser at UK Trade and Investment, the commercial arm of the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai, has conveyed this in an e-mail to College Chairman T D Naidu.
Noting that the UK Trade and Investment would be organising a Medical Education and Training seminar during the last week of June 2011, Satish wanted to discuss this with Naidu, in his capacity as Chairman of DD Hospital and President of All India Medical Association.
He said the purpose of UK Trade and Investment was to help UK-based companies find partners in India and vice versa.
UK Trade and Investment also helps companies in India set up subsidiaries in the UK, he added.

[bonoslack7]

http://www.equitybulls.com/admin/new...t.asp?id=89799

In order to forward integrate from products to services Amrutanjan Health Care Ltd has entered into a New Business Activity viz., Pain Management. The Board of Directors of the Company has granted approval for the same. The Objects clause of the company was also revised with the approval of the Shareholders through postal ballot, for this purpose.

Further the Company has informed that, the said objects, the Company is shortly to open its first centre for specialized Pain Management in T. Nagar, Chennai, which would provide treatment from non-invasive to invasive interventions.

[Chennai lover]

http://www.timeswellness.com/index.a...5293297d84bcbe

First of a kind surgery involved simultaneous replacement of two heart valves

Fabiola Monteiro
Posted On Thursday, April 21, 2011

In a first of its kind robotic assisted cardiac surgery, two of the heart valves of a 23-year-old man were replaced. Dr R Ravi Kumar, Director of the Institute of Cardio Vascular Disease at Chettinad Health City, Chennai and his team who were responsible for this feat were present to address a press conference.

The patient
The patient was a 23-year-old man, a driver by profession. He complained of shortness of breath and could walk only about 10 to 15 feet. On evaluation, which included an echocardiogram, the patient was diagnosed with rheumatic valve disease. He had mitral regurtation (leak), mitral stenosis and aortic valve regurtation (leak). He was put on a bypass machine and his heart was stopped. With the assistance of a high precision robot, both the valves were removed and replaced with mechanical mitral and aortic valves.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Kumar said, “Robotic assisted cardiac surgery was introduced in the year 2000 in USA. Robotic surgery was a novel change in medical therapy that was soon recognized all over the world for its accuracy. The first mitral valve was repaired by Dr Chitwood in the USA. Over the decade, many attempts and advances have been made in robotic surgery to replace and repair heart valves. Single valve repair and replacement in mitral position have been successful since the beginning. The first mitral valve replacement using robotic assistance was done in India during 2006. Replacement of aortic valve was successfully done at Chettinad Health City in December, 2007. But the art of using robotic surgery was never attempted for double valve replacement. This process has been considered technically challenging until now”.

Previously, tricky surgeries like the Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (PTE), operating on a patient with a rare condition called Situs Inversus Solitaris with Dextrocardia etc., have been performed but this case was more difficult because both valves had to be replaced simultaneously if he had to function normally in the future.

Kumar added that this would be an era that would witness an evolution in the field of medicine and 'New Age Robotics’. Chettinad Health City, a state of the Art Multi-Specialty hospital, is now the first hospital in the world to have succeeded in this endeavor in the field of heart surgery.

[TShyam]

CHENNAI: Every day at least 30 stray dogs are vaccinated for rabies at the dog pound maintained by the Blue Cross volunteers. The volunteers often boast that Chennai is a model rabies -free city. But they do not know that there were 15 rabies deaths in the city in the last four months.

Rabies control in the city hinges on four stakeholders: hospitals that treat patients, Chennai Corporation, NGOs, and the state health authorities. And these agencies have not been communicating with each other. "In no review meetings has the Chennai Corporation mentioned rabies deaths," say NGOs such as Blue Cross who carry out birth control programmes and anti-rabies vaccination for stray dogs. "Could the deaths be due to other animals?" Dawn Williams, resident manager for Blue Cross, asked in disbelief.

Blue Cross, along with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals and the People for Animals, has taken up the work of identifying, sterilising and vaccinating stray dogs in the Chennai Corporation limits. Though sterilisation is a one-time effort to reduce dog population, vaccinations need to be carried out every year.

For the first round of vaccination, the dogs are sterilised and given anti-rabies shots. After vaccination, the ears of the dogs are notched to identify them for follow up. The animal welfare activists claim that the yearly follow up vaccinations are not difficult to do, since dogs are territorial animals and the NGOs keep a record of the number of dogs in a particular area and vaccinate them.

"Dogs do not relocate and it is easy to find them after a year in the same locality. This way we do not miss any dog," said Blue Cross joint secretary joint secretary Sathya Radhakrishnan. The organisation says that they have been vaccinating since 1964 and the stray dog population has reduced drastically.

But resident welfare associations vehemently disagree. "There seems to be a new pup everyday in our neighbourhood. And we see many new dogs moving in to mate with the bitches," said Federation of T Nagar Residents joint secretary VS Jayaraman.

Residents argue that there is no guarantee that the dogs sterlised are followed up for vaccinations. "They chase you in the night. On several days, we have seen people fall off their bikes or scream on road. No one knows which dog was vaccinated when. I wish they had a collar that would give us the vaccination date," says R Lakshminarayanan, a resident of Natesan Nagar in Virugambakkam.

Animal welfare activists say that collars will help, but with no funding from the civic body, they don't think it's achievable. "The corporation has given us the place. The money they allot per dog is hardly enough for feeding and vaccines. If they share at least 50% of the cost of surgery, we would be able to do much better," Radhakrishan of Blue Cross said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/8042208.cms

A virus that blindfolds immune system

CHENNAI: When 23-year-old Rajendran was brought to the government general hospital with tumultous stomach ache of three days, doctors thought it was possibly another case of food poisoning or acute gastroenteritis. He was admitted to the normal ward and put on medicines to reduce his stomach pain.

It was only when he refused milk the next day did the doctor suspected something serious. When he refused water, the doctors discovered he was hydrophobic and shifted him to isolation ward. Four days later, Rajendran died.

The rabies virus is best at evading immune system. So, symptoms occur only between 20 to 60 days after rabies exposure. By the time clinical symptoms like fear of water, increased salivation, fever, seizures and hallucinations set in, the patient's family would have forgotten the dog-bite episode.

Every patient shifted to one of four cubicles meant for rabies patients in the isolation ward of the hospital has died. "I remember this case so well because he was so young and was my name sake," Dr C Rajendran, head of clinical medicine. The patient was a victim of dog bite. He had taken three of the six vaccines but dropped out as he thought the wound had healed. "Many patients who come into this ward are those who have either ignored dog bites or have dropped out of the vaccine. Eventually they all die," he said.

If not vaccinated within the incubation period of 2 days, Rabies, a viral disease passed on to humans from animals, has a 100% fatality.

Patients brought in with rabies are quarantined. "There is no treatment. The patient's condition deteriorates every day. It becomes difficult for them to speak or eat because of the spasms they develop in the windpipe muscles. All doctors and nurses do is ensure a less painful death by putting them on sedation," said Dr Muthurajan, resident medical officer of Government General Hospital.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...ow/8042261.cms

It is strange to see so many cases of rabies in Chennai. Please be careful.
If anyone is bitten by un vaccinated or unknown dog, please wash the bitten area with copious amount of soap and water and then wash it with some antiseptic agent (betadine is good enough). After that immediately seek medical attention (fortunately rabies is one of the very few diseases where post exposure prophylaxis - vaccination after exposure works). Get vaccinated as soon as possible. Also finish the vaccination course (5 doses at 0,3,7,14 and 30th day). Not finishing the course is only as good as no vaccination. Educate the kids about these too. Those who dont know the facts may ignore a minor incident which may turn fatal.

Some popular myths about rabies: It is only transmitted by dog bite - False, it can also be transmitted if an infected dog licks on an exposed surface (example - a unhealed wound) or on mucous membranes (eye, nose, mouth, tongue etc). Get vaccinated unless you are absolutely sure of the vaccination status of the animal in question.

Dogs though are the most common cause, are not the only transmitters - cats and bats also transmit rabies. Infact, bats are the most common cause of rabies deaths in the US although it is dogs in India.

Another popular myth is that rabies dogs are aggressive and if a dog looks harmless, then probably it was not infected with rabies. This is again false. Rabies affected dogs exhibit two kinds of behavior. While some are aggressive, some are just normal looking or even tired - these are dogs in terminal stage disease and carry the highest viral load. So dont take anything for granted. Remember - rabies is 100% fatal. And the death is not painless.

More reference:http://www.who.int/rabies/human/postexp/en/
As a rule of thumb, always clear your medical doubts in trusted websites like WHO or one of the medical university websites like mayo clinic. Although Wiki is quite accurate, it is better to go for the above mentioned ones.

[Raji7373]

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chenna...ub/267374.html

Kuatlika Mazumdar looks tired, as she quietly savours a mouthful of biryani at Hotel Sathyam, the popular Bengali eatery on Greams Road. This school teacher from Kolkata and her teenage daughter Ayesha, allow themselves the luxury of dining out today — a little celebration of sorts, after a long struggle that just came to an end.

Three years ago, Kuatlika’s husband, a railway employee, was diagnosed with tongue cancer. Now, after chemo and removal of his tongue, vocal chords and a part of his cheekbone, he is finally “out of the danger zone”. “We went to another big hospital in Chennai, but the doctors there gave up on him. My brother’s friend in Chennai then suggested the Apollo Specialty Hospital, and we are glad we rushed here for help,” says Kuatlika. Having accompanied her husband to Chennai 12 times in three years for regular check-ups, she’s relieved that it has now been reduced to twice a year.

‘This is still the Nawab’s property’

Don’t be surprised if you feel alien in the lanes of the Mackay’s Garden Road. For one, you’ll hear more Bengali and Assamese than Tamil or English. You’ll even spot more Bengali text than Tamil or English on shop boards. And if you’re a curious Tamilian, more so a woman, you can be assured of being the attention of at least a dozen eyes with differing levels of amusement and even suspicion, if you wander long enough. In this maze-like locality, the lanes are narrow enough to give you a feel of an Old Delhi mohalla, and congested enough to make you breathless.

In these streets, there’s nothing a West Indian native will not find to accommodate his lifestyle — from shops that sell mustard oil, groceries, puffed rice (a staple breakfast item) and even the special fish variety that finds its way into the Bengali cuisine. With 150 lodges and more, travel agencies, departmental shops, meat shops, chaiwallahs and even fancy stores, this area has been functioning for years, providing excellent business opportunities for locals as well as outsiders.

Two such outsiders are Ramakrishna, 24 and Shankar Das, 18, both from West Bengal. Ramakrishna came to Chennai 11 years ago and went on to become the manager of Annam Mansion, one of the bigger lodges in the area. “Most lodges here have a travel agency attached to them. By managing this place, I get a commission of `8,000 every month. I came to know of opportunities here from my uncles who also run travel agencies in this city,” he says.

Shankar Das, on the other hand, couldn’t make it as big, and helps with a departmental store. He too, had relatives who convinced him to get a job here after dropping out of school in Class 10. Today, Shakar is kept on his toes through the day, attending to hundreds of Bengali and North Indian customers who throng the shop in the mornings and evenings.

REad the full article here...I have cut down many in my posting.

[murlee]

Isn't bengal and assam in East India???

[satchitananda]

Originally Posted by murlee

Isn't bengal and assam in East India???

Thats express for you.. guess we must avoid posting substandard info like this..

[bonoslack7]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle1716187.ece

The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University is launching several programmes aimed at mid-level doctors and those who work in rural areas and in the private sector.

The courses will not only help upgrade their skills and enable them to earn a degree while in practice but also provide the respect that they feel is denied as they are not specialists.

The University has proposed to start a diploma course in family medicine which will be offered through distance mode. The curriculum is being framed to enable the candidates to add to their knowledge even when they are expected to be in their hospitals or attend to patients in their private practice.

“The course will benefit doctors who have long regretted not having any extra qualification and feel that despite their experience they are not on a par with specialists,” Vice-Chancellor of the University Mayil Vahanan Natarajan told TheHindu recently.

The University recently received approval from the Medical Council of India for its three year MD course in Family Medicine. Teaching medical colleges would be expected to form a team to identify the best way to conduct the course. The college authorities have to pool experts from various disciplines and find a person to head the department of Family Medicine. “It is now up to the medical colleges to apply to the University to start the course. But, the university will conduct the examinations,” he said.

In mid-May around 30 candidates, all mid-career doctors who hold a diploma in rehabilitation medicine will undergo an exam to qualify for an MD degree in the subject. Some of the candidates had taken the diploma course almost 25 years ago.