On 25th August 2015, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Union Minister of Law and Justice launched the government’s latest health and IT initiative called SEHAT (Social Endeavour for Health And Telemedicine) at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi today. This venture with Apollo Hospitals was the first of its kind in India to connect 60,000 Common Service Centers across the country to a common network and provide healthcare access to millions of citizens irrespective of geographical location or connectivity. Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman – Apollo Hospitals said: This initiative of ‘SEHAT’, shall connect the largest population of our country on a common network to avail telehealth services. Apollo Hospitals has always been committed to providing the Digital Dividend to all Indians. We are very proud to have launched India’s first Telemedicine centre in 2000, in Aragonda and it was inaugurated by the then President of the United States, Mr. Bill Clinton. Through our PM’s ‘Digital India’ initiative more Indians shall get access to e-services and we are delighted to be a partner with the GOI in this path breaking endeavour to link SEHAT to 60,000 Common Service Centers. Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals said: “Telemedicine can provide rural population access for basic, specialty and super specialty consultations. Since 80% of the conditions do not require a doctor’s physical presence immediately, they can be dealt with through telemedicine. Most lifestyle and communicable diseases fall into this category. It is indeed a privilege for us to work with the Government of India and the Hon’ble Minister in making history by starting the world’s largest telemedicine program in the world today.” The Apollo Group launched the first telemedicine centre in the country in 2000. Through this, the hospital has been able to reach geographically remote and inaccessible regions of the country and the world to better enable the reach of medical treatment. The Group operates one of the country’s largest telemedicine networks and has partnered with the Indian Space Research Organization, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Governments from the Africa, CIS and Pacific Rim nations to provide access to quality medical services.    

Liver Transplantation is the greatest development in the field of medical science. The robust Liver Transplant Program in Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata has highly skilled Liver transplant surgeons, Hepatologists, specialized Anaesthetists and Intensive Care experts. Dedicated and specially trained nurses form an important part of the team. Each year hundreds of Indians die while waiting for an organ transplant. This is because there is an acute imbalance between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant. Fifteen years after India passed the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, allowing organ retrieval from brain-dead patients, most kidney and liver donations still come from living donors. The event was addressed by Dr Rupali Basu, President & CEO- Eastern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group, India, who felicitated the liver donor and recipients, highlighted that enhanced awareness is needed to encourage people to donate organs. “We would like to highlight the human face of donation and Transplantation by focusing on the recipients of this incredible gift without forgetting the generosity of the donor families”, added Dr Basu, while motivating people to pledge organs. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mahesh Kumar Goenka, Director and Consultant Gastroenterology, stated, “A liver transplant is recommended when all other treatment options fail and then on, inaction could be fatal. The purpose of transplantation is to replace the diseased liver with a healthy liver. Ideally, after a transplant, a patient will be free from disease and can lead a fairly normal life. Despite of the initiatives taken for education of the masses towards cadaveric organ donation, we are still receiving a very few cadaveric organ donors.” Dr Anand Khakhar, Senior Consultant and Program Director for The Centre for Liver Disease & Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, added, “Liver and other organs such as kidney and Pancreas can be retrieved from healthy individuals. However, a bigger resource can be, recently deceased (Brain dead) individuals, who or whose family has agreed for organ donation. In such situation, one can utilize the liver, two kidneys, two corneas, pancreas, lungs, heart and intestine and one individual can save almost 9-10 lives.” Dr Anil Vaidya, Senior Consultant, Multivisceral Transplant surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, adds, “The only established cure for diabetes is through a successful pancreatic transplant. The source of this organ is either from a ‘brain dead’ donor or a ‘live-related’ donor. Transplantation not only extends life, but, also rehabilitates a diabetic to a life of physical, social, psychological well being and self perception of normality; control over one’s destiny, with fewer restrictions and enhanced capacities leading to improved sense of independence.”    

The health needs of children are extremely unique and different. In addition, today, more than ever before, there is increased need for pediatric super specialties such as Cardiology, Neonatology, Neurology and Robotic Urology. Our objectives are to make a world of difference in the health care and well-being of children, adolescents and their families by integrating medical care, education and research to provide the highest quality care and service to the community and to provide specialized health care services under one roof for all children. Therefore we have started Evening clinics and Sunday clinics where Consultants from different Paediatric specialties are available. Evening Clinics Dr.Raghupathy (Paediatrician) 2pm to 7pm Dr.Daga (Paediatrician) 2pm to 7pm Dr.M.Sridhar(Paediatrician) 6pm to 8pm Dr.J.K.Reddy (Paediatrician) 7.30pm to 10.30pm Dr.Banu (Paediatrician) 7pm to 8pm Dr.Jimmy Shad (Urology) 7pm to 8pm Dr.Gopinath Menon (Orthopaedics) 6pm to 8pm Sunday Clinics Dr.J.K.Reddy (Paediatrician) 11am-2pm Dr.Latha Viswanathan (Paediatrician) 10am-12noon Dr.C.Satheesh (Paediatrician) 11am-12noon Dr.Desai (Paediatrician) 11am-1pm Dr.Jimmy (Urology)/ Dr.Rajeev (Paediatric surgeon)/ Dr.Sankar(Orthopaedics)/ Dr.Clington(Orthopaedics) are also available.    

According to Dr. Manish C. Varma, Senior Consultant and the Chief transplant surgeon, who led the transplantation surgery, a 4-year old child named Salama was suffering from a rare metabolic disorder Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, where the liver lacks enzymes required for processing proteins. So the child was deprived of living a normal life of her age and was not allowed to eat chocolates and drink milk. She would become unconscious every time she consumed proteins in her diet. After consulting various doctors, she was admitted to Apollo Hospitals in July and was advised a liver transplantation surgery to lead a normal life. Since there were no suitable donors in their family, the child was put on a waiting list as there were not suitable donors available. However, the team of Apollo doctors were also considering to transplant a split liver extracted from a brain dead person, but fortunately the child could get the liver of a brain dead child made available through Jeevandaan scheme of the state government. Upon finalizing that the available liver was an appropriate match, the team of doctors at Apollo carried out the liver transplant surgery successfully and the child could recover in just 15 days after the operation. Speaking about the operation, Dr. AnuragShrimal, Liver transplant surgeon, said, “Finding appropriate size organs for small babies is an onerous task and hence closing the abdomen after fitting the new liver in is always a challenge. We have used a new technique, composite graft, wherein the closure became very easy.” Paediatric liver transplantation requires advanced infrastructure and well qualified staff who are specialised for dealing with critical paediatric patients. Apart from a meticulous surgery, the biggest challenge is the intensive care in the post-operative period. The margin of error in paediatric liver transplant patients is extremely narrow and the management has to be coordinated like clockwork. The liver transplant programme at Apollo Heath City, Hyderabad has a success rate of over 97 per cent, which besides being the best in India, is also one of the best in the world.  

Ambili was suffering from a rare disease where her lungs become dysfunctional as the good and bad blood get mixed through a hole in the upper compartment of her heart. The 11-hour long surgery wasled by Senior Consultants and Cardiothoracic and Transplant surgeons, Dr Paul Ramesh Thangaraj, Dr Sunder T and Dr Madhan Kumar, of Apollo Hospitals Chennai. On Wednesday 12th August, relatives of a brain-dead person came forward to donate his organs to Ambili. Ambili is recovering well and will soon resume her day to day activities.    

Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) had announced this achievement that was performed on two young girls. He said the feat achieved was carried out by a team of surgeons led by Dr Neville Solomon, Consultant, Pediatric & Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals Chennai, India. The CMD described Dr. Solomon as a world renowned Cardiac surgeon who performs over 3, 000 heart surgeries free around the world in a year. “The strategic partnership is of two benefits: first is that it exposes our patients to the highest quality of surgical care comparable to that which is obtainable anywhere in the world,” Olatinwo said. He said the collaboration with Apollo Hospital would also facilitate skills transfer to the Teaching Hospital’s Cardiac care team so that they could carry out subsequent surgery.    

Apollo Hospitals, Kakinada has been formally accredited by NABH – making it the 11th hospital in the group to be accredited. The Hospital is now the first NABH accredited group hospital in the re-formed state of Andhra Pradesh. Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, Dr. Hari Prasad (CEO- Central Region) & Mr. Karunakar (Vice President – HR) congratulated the team.  

Apollo Hospital, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management has been selected by the World Hypertension League (WHL) for its office in South Asia. The Apollo family is proud for being selected as the South Asia Office of WHL (a WHO partner). We will now be able to spread awareness for better blood pressure control in India through our coalition with WHL/WHO. The South Asia office of WHL at Apollo will cover India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Apollo in partnership with WHL is bound to reduce the burden for non-communicable diseases in South Asia. Noted pioneer in hypertension, Dr. C. Venkata S. Ram of Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management is the Director of South Asia centre of WHL located in the Apollo Health City, Hyderabad. Recently Dr. Daniel Lackland, Director and incoming President of WHL was in Hyderabad to meet Dr. Ram and go over the WHL plans for blood pressure control in India/South Asia through its regional office now located at the Apollo Jubilee Hills Campus/Hyderabad.  

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals has completed 10 years of accreditation by Joint Commission International (JCI). In July 2005, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals became the first hospital in India and the 6th in Asia to be accredited. JCI accreditation is the gold standard for international accreditation as it reflects provision of the highest levels of patient care and patient safety. An event was organized to mark the occasion. The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri. Manish Sisodia, Ms. Paula Wilson, CEO, JCI and Mr. PrabhuVinayagam, MD Asia Pacific Region, JCI graced the function on 30th July, 2015. Shri Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi congratulated the Apollo Hospitals Group and the entire team and also expressed his desire to replicate their committed efforts and excellence across the capital in several new health initiatives that the government is planning to set up. Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint MD, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Apollo Hospitals has always been a fore-runner in quality improvement and patient safety. We were the first ones to bring the JCI accreditation to India and six of our hospitals are accredited today.” Mr. Jaideep Gupta, MD, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said “Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals has always set benchmarks in patient care, clinical research protocols and healthcare delivery systems. The JCI accreditation is a testimony to Apollo Hospitals’ constant endeavor to provide world-class patient care and maintain highest standards in healthcare delivery systems in India.” Speaking about the accreditation, Dr. AnupamSibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Groupsaid, “The JCI accreditation is a recognition and reiteration of Apollo Hospitals’ commitment to provide healthcare services of International standards in the country. Our endeavor is to provide excellent clinical outcomes and accreditation has helped us in this”.    

At the event, the CD on “175 cases Advanced Fever Clinic” was released by Dr. Preetha Reddy – Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals and was received by Kavingnar Vairamuthu. The CD on “Text Book of Medicine” was released by Prof. Dr. K. V. Thiruvengadam and was received by Dr. D. Shantharam – Vice Chancellor Tamil Nadu Dr. M. G. R. University. The CD & Book on “Poisoning Drug Over Dose” was released by Mr. R.S. Munirathinam – Chairman RMK group of colleges and was received by Mr. R. Sekar – I.P.S, Director General of Police – Vigilance / TANGEDCO Chennai.

Apollo Children’s Hospital has once again showcased its expertise and technical know-how on implementing some of the latest technologies for the benefit of the patients. Surgeries performed at Apollo Children’s Hospital using the da Vinci Robot provides patients with all the advantages like quicker discharge time, reduced discomfort and pain, minimal scarring, smaller incisions, enhanced magnification, greater accuracy, better precision and less blood loss that conventional Laparoscopy offers over open surgeries. Highlighting the need for awareness on Robotic surgeries, doctors and experts said that even though Robotic procedures have proven to be highly precise and targeted, the expertise, infrastructure and referrals by many doctors is minimal hindering the development of Robotic surgeries in Chennai. Dr. Venkat Sripathi, Senior Consultant Paediatric Urologist says, “The magnification and 3D view that robotics offers helps us navigate in a targeted manner and complete the procedure without affecting neighbouring cells and tissues which is crucial in Paediatrics.” Elaborating on how Robotics helped in the treatment of 3 year old Aditya Somani, Dr. Sripathi said, “Aditya had urine flowing back to his kidneys, a condition called Vesico-Ureteral Reflux, and an obstruction, the combination of which had caused damage to the kidney requiring urgent surgery. With the help of Robotics, we completed the procedure in 1 hour and 45 minutes reducing the child’s discomfort and helping him recover quite immediately. The block was removed, ureter reattached to the bladder and fixed in a way to prevent urine backflow into the kidneys.” Another interesting case is that of 5 year old Bhargavi who was suspected to have a block outside the kidney. The space constraint outside the patient’s kidney made it difficult to consider a conventional surgery as that would have required the doctors to make a large incision to approach the kidney which could have been complicated. However with Robotics, given its superb magnification and manoeuvring capabilities, helped the team of doctors to remove the block in just 1.5 hours. “At Apollo, we have always believed that harnessing the right technology and entrusting it in skilful hands can help work miracles. If you have the expertise, your battle is half won already. The only area we then focus our energies on is to ensure that our patients are well counselled on the techniques we will be adopting to cure them or their loved ones so that we can allay any fears that may be in their minds. We are a privileged lot today as our clinical excellence continues to give hopes to many and makes decision making far easier for patients with the availability of cutting edge technology within their reach,” added Ms. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals.  

The patient from Jharkhand sustained grievous injuries when his two-wheeler collided with a moving train and was shifted to the hospital by train. The incident has also highlighted the importance of a quality trauma care for emergency situations. Mr. Vijay Kumar Singh (55) from Chirkunda, Jharkhand, was riding a two wheeler when he collided with a moving train sustaining multiple injuries. Mr. Singh was diagnosed with an open book pelvic fracture, fracture sacrum, fracture of all spinous processes of lumbar vertebrae, fractured dorsal spine, multiple fractured ribs on both sides, blood in abdomen (Hemoperitoneum), and blood in chest (Haemothorax). Although he was immediately rushed to a hospital in Kolkata, his condition worsened prompting his family to look for other options. Dr. Balaji Srinivasan, Consultant Orthopedic surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai was consulted and following his advice, a doctor and nurse travelled to Kolkata and helped shift Mr. Singh to Chennai by train. Mr. Singh was admitted to Apollo Hospitals, Chennai on July 8th. A major 5 hour pelvic surgery was performed, in which a 1 inch key hole was used to fix the big sacral pelvic fracture. The fixation is so stable that the patient has already been mobilized and is on a wheelchair ready to travel back to his hometown in less than 72 hrs. Commenting about the importance of trauma care, Dr. Balaji Srinivasan said, “Trauma care is as important as any other discipline in medicine and it is crucial that every hospital has the necessary comprehensive medical services in place. Thanks to the facilities and expertise available at Apollo Hospitals, Mr. Singh is now able to return safely back to his hometown.”