Noted Industrialists and Corporate Leaders, Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, Mr. Harsh Vardhan Neotia, Mr. Y C Deveshwar and Mr. Sumit Mazumder jointly released the Biography of Dr Prathap Chandra Reddy, the architect of corporate healthcare in India in Kolkata. Present during the release were MD of Apollo Hospitals, Ms Preetha Reddy, CEO of Apollo Gleneagles, Dr Rupali Basu, Group DMS of Apollo Hospitals group, Dr Anupam Sibal and Author, Mr. Pranay Gupte. The Kolkata leg of book launch was organized during the prestigious ‘IV Annual GAPIO (Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) being hosted in Kolkata. The 600-page biography, “”Healer: Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India,”” is authored by PranayGupte, veteran international journalist, biographer and historian and published by Penguin, the world’s largest publisher. The book was two years in the making, and its publication comes on the occasion of Dr. Reddy’s 80th birthday, and the 30th anniversary of the founding of Apollo Hospitals. Earlier during the GAPIO inaugural meet, Dr Prathap C Reddy presented a copy of the biography to Shri Amit Mitra, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Commerce and Industries, Govt. of West Bengal. Author Pranay Gupte shared his experience of two years which he spent with Dr Reddy to an audience comprised of doctors, Consulate officers, industrialists and eminent journalists. The biography traces Dr. Reddy’s improbable journey from Aragonda to medical school in Madras to a flourishing cardiology practice in the United States. At the age of 50, Dr Reddy returned to India at the behest of his father in order to make a contribution to his homeland. Recognizing that healthcare in India was delivered mainly by government hospitals and philanthropic institutions that lacked proper facilities, Dr. Reddy set out to establish Apollo Hospitals, a pioneer in the corporate sector. By bringing world-class equipment and best practices, and by persuading Indian doctors living abroad to come home again, Dr. Reddy succeeded in creating what has now become Asia’s foremost medical system. Apollo holds world records in heart, lung, kidney and other organ surgeries and transplants. “Dr. Reddy transformed the healthcare landscape of India,” author Gupte says, noting that his research showed that Apollo has served more than 37 million people through its 54 facilities in the last 30 years. The biography is now available at bookstores and airports across India.    

In yet another feat to take world class healthcare to all in India, leading healthcare provider, Apollo Hospitals today launched a superior remote consulting and diagnostic -Teleradiology services at its Flagship Hospital in Chennai. Inaugurated by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Honourable Former President of India, this technology intervention will help patients and diagnostic centres in remote locations to access expert radiologist with their radiology images for expert opinion and get appropriate treatment recommendations. This service will play a very vital role in reducing patient waiting time for diagnosis, treatment commencement and cost. Teleradiology is an emerging field that has the potential to benefit both patients and healthcare service providers immensely as it helps eliminate distance barriers and improve access to quality health services or information that otherwise are not available in rural and distant communities. They play an invaluable role in emergency and critical care situations especially where moving a patient may be undesirable or not feasible. Not only does this technology lessen the inconvenience and cost of patient transfers but will also help reduce unnecessary travel time for health professionals to multiplex their services beyond boundaries where by improve efficiency and to reduce cost. “Since three decades we have been innovating on our facilities and introducing new technologies to better healthcare reach and administration. Teleradiology as a technology can transform rural healthcare delivery by empowering both patients and doctors alike. While rural practitioners can gain access to specialist health services and benefit from interactions with consultants and specialists, patients can receive health information and advice from health professionals from the convenience of their homes.” said Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo hospitals Group. How the technology works: An X-Ray, CT, MRI and any clinical images are transferred as loss less DICOM formats to a centralized PACS data centre on a secured mode. These files, including accompanying medical notes, are electronically accessed by expert radiologists at the state of the art Apollo Tele-Radiology Reading centres-ATRC at Apollo hospitals Chennai. The radiologist in the tertiary care site opens the file and reviews the x-rays, CT, MRI and other clinical images and notes in order to confirm and/or determine a diagnosis at single location with multiple levels of expertise in Radiology sciences. The file and accompanying medical inferences, recommendations and notes are then electronically reported back to the remote and distant diagnostic centres/hospitals or patients. The patient is informed of diagnosis without having to meet the radiologist in person. The whole process from the time patient images and parameters captured can be completed in less than 30 to 40 minutes which otherwise takes more than a day or a week depending on the complexity of the patient condition. Benefits & Advantages of Teleradiology Without rapid access to medical imaging results, diagnosis and treatment delays would be the norm of the day and the cost of care would be even greater. The advantage of having a Teleradiology group is that it can provide a team of specialized teleradiologists for patients, and moreover, emergency services are also provided effectively, bringing down the waiting time for patients. The Teleradiology group has several specialties and sub-specialties available such as Neuroradiologists, Musculoskeletal radiologists, Abdomen and Pelvic imaging specialists, Woman’s imaging specialists and Cardiac radiologists. When the scans are sent to the group, the group assigns the reporting to the specialists, thereby the hospital treating the patient gets the best specialist report in that particular speciality. Teleradiology allows for trained specialists to be available 24/7 to read patients’ images. Teleradiology services allow hospitals to treat patients round the clock. The biggest benefits of Teleradiology are in cost reduction and towards improving the quality of the reports for the patients.  

The 600-page biography, “Healer: Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India,” is authored by Pranay Gupte, veteran international journalist, biographer and historian and published by Penguin, the world’s largest publisher. The book was two years in the making, and its publication comes on the occasion of Dr. Reddy’s 80th birthday, and the 30th anniversary of the founding of Apollo Hospitals. In presenting the book to President Mukherjee, Dr. Reddy – Founder and Chairman of Apollo Hospitals – noted that Mr. Mukherjee has long been associated with encouraging the growth of India’s healthcare sector. “Pranab Mukherjee recognized the urgent need to transform healthcare in our country,” Dr. Reddy said. “The President – along with the late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi – has long believed that a society’s health affects its productivity,” Dr. Reddy said. “”Not only Apollo Hospitals but the entire corporate sector has been the beneficiary of his foresight, and his strong belief that healthcare is a vital component of sustainable economic development in emerging countries such as India.”” The biography traces Dr. Reddy’s improbable journey from Aragonda to medical school in Madras to a flourishing cardiology practice in the United States. At the age of 50, Dr Reddy returned to India at the behest of his father in order to make a contribution to his homeland. Recognizing that healthcare in India was delivered mainly by government hospitals and philanthropic institutions that lacked proper facilities, Dr. Reddy set out to establish Apollo Hospitals, a pioneer in the corporate sector. By bringing world-class equipment and best practices, and by persuading Indian doctors living abroad to come home again, Dr. Reddy succeeded in creating what has now become Asia’s foremost medical system. Apollo holds world records in heart, lung, kidney and other organ surgeries and transplants. “Dr. Reddy transformed the healthcare landscape of India,” author Gupte says, noting that his research showed that Apollo has served more than 37 million people through its 54 facilities in the last 30 years. The formal launch of the book will take place in several cities over the next few weeks, including in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and elsewhere. Launches will also be held in London and New York, since “Healer” will also be available in global markets soon. The biography is now available at bookstores and airports across India. Excerpts from the biography have started appearing in a number of Indian and foreign publications.  

“We have many years of experience with wars and terrorist attacks. We have gained a lot of experience on how to organise a system in hospitals to deal with mass casualties and save lives,” said Gila Hyams, centre director of Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel, during an international conference on ‘Disaster management and mass casualty-preparedness for hospitals’. Hospitals in Israel are bound by law to be prepared to handle disasters, said Moshe Michaelson, medical director. “”The ministry of health conducts checks every year to see if hospitals are prepared. Hospitals are compelled to perform one drill every year. This is part of the hospital license and if they fail in a drill, they have to do it again.”” Ms. Hyams said nurses are given checklists with different tasks, starting with evacuating the emergency ward to keep it free for the injured to be brought in, pool in staff, set up equipment and keep the treatment area ready. Inaugurating the two-day conference, Governor K. Rosaiah stressed the need to devise an exclusive strategy for hospitals to handle disaster casualties. Preetha Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals, said the government, private sector, non-governmental organisations and the community should come together to help in overcoming an emergency situation. K.A. Abraham, director of medical services, Apollo Specialty Hospitals, Vanagaram, and V. Satyanarayana Reddy, CEO of Apollo Hospitals, southern region were present.  

In what can be considered a historical case, Apollo Speciality Hospitals in Vanagaram announced the successful separation of Pygopagus twins from Tanzania – Ericana & Eluidi. A marathon surgery of 18 hours conducted by a select team of 20 doctors from the specialties of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery and paediatric urology was led by Dr. Venkata Sripathi, Senior Consultant Paediatric Urologist, Apollo Children’s Hospital, Dr. Roshini Gopinathan and Dr. K S Sivakumar, Senior Consultant Plastic Surgeons, Apollo Children’s Hospitals. The Surgery which began at 9:00 AM on December 16, 2013 concluded with the successful separation of the twin nine month old boys at 1:00 AM on December 17, 2013. Born in a small village called ‘Kasumulu’ in Tanzania Ericana and Eluidi were referred to Apollo Hospital in Chennai through Apollo’s Save a Child’s Heart Initiative (SACHI) and have been under the expert care of skilled doctors at Apollo for five months now. Both babies who can now look forward to leading normal lives as two separate individuals are currently recuperating in the Intensive Care Unit at Apollo’s Vanagaram facility. They have been stable and are showing signs of a promising and speedy recovery. Commenting on the complex surgery, Dr. Venkata Sripathi said “It took us about 13 hours to separate the twins, post which reconstruction took another 5 hours. The most challenging moments were the spinal separation without injury to the nerves of either baby, separation of the fused phallus without nerve and vessel injury, separation of the urinary bladder and urethra followed by reconstruction of the pelvic floor around the rectum and anus, providing skin cover. In all it took us about 18 hours.” Live born Pygopagus twins are usually female in sex and male Pygopagus twins are extremely rare. Till now in medical literature, only 30 sets of Pygopagus twins have been reported out of which 26 female and only four were were male – making Eluidi and Ericana a very special fifth pair. “As of now the babies are stable, but are under observation in the critical-care unit, and we are expecting that they will be fit enough to be shifted to the ward in another 5 – 7 days. Once the babies begin to feed and void well and are active, they will be discharged. They will be brought back 6 months from now for hypospadias repair and colostomies” added Dr. Sripathi . Dr. Edward Kiely, Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon and Dr. Richard Howard – Anaesthetist both from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London were present to proctor the Apollo team during the course of the surgery. “In our 30 years, Apollo Hospitals has always been a pioneer in healthcare delivery and has continued to excel with world-class clinical outcomes. The case of Ericana and Eluidi was both unique and challenging. We are glad to have had the opportunity to give their strong-willed mother Grace a reason to be truly happy after nine months of agony and anticipation. We have once again demonstrated our prowess as a global destination for affordable yet world class healthcare” said Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Group of Hospitals . Conjoined twins, though rarely encountered, are seen in one in 200,000 deliveries. However, more than 60% of them are stillborn while 35% of the remaining dies within a few days or months of birth due to various causes. Conjoined twins can be joined at the chest, abdomen, back, buttock and head. Fusion at the buttocks (Pygopagus) is very rare and accounts for less than 17% of all conjoined twins. Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Vanagaram Surgical Team who successfully separated Pygopagus twins Ericana and Eluidi on December 16,2013 with Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy Before Seperation  After Seperation          

The chosen venue for the ABLF Awards was one that epitomizes the spirit and ambition of Dubai, and in turn, Asia, through its soaring 828 meters of unparalleled, contemporary architecture – the Burj Khalifa. The third edition of the ABLF Awards was held under the patronage of UAE’s most beloved leaders, H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development. An international event, the Asian Business Leadership Forum Awards is Asia’s premier showcase of exemplary business enterprise celebrating the key drivers of the global economy. From its inception, the ABLF grown at a phenomenal pace, and is dubbed Asia’s most powerful business event. The ethos of the ABLF is crafted on three defining narratives: leadership, knowledge and inspiration. The ABLF Awards 2013 turned its spotlight on India’s most respected cardiologist and entrepreneur, Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group. At the event, Dr. Reddy was honoured and celebrated as an exemplary leader who has stood strong in the face of the economic downturn and played a significant role in the story of ‘Asia Rising’. The ABLF Lifetime Achievement Award is a heartfelt felicitation of a true visionary. The prestigious ABLF Lifetime Achievement award once again recognized Chairman’s passion and commitment and that he consistently placed the community and country on his lead agenda. The award acknowledged Dr. Reddy’s vision to leave the world a better place and that he has spent a lifetime nurturing and sharing values of excellence, innovation and sustainability alongside social responsibilities and philanthropy. The Healer: Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy and the Transformation of India, authored by the international author and columnist, Mr Pranay Gupte, who has held the key positions of Foreign Correspondent at the New York Times and Contributing Editor at Forbes was launched at the ABLF Awards 2013, and copies of the book were gifted to all the guests.  

The helpline was launched in the presence of Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals The ‘robotic surgery helpline’ (94306415) will be open 24 X 7 for patients to call and discuss, in detail with doctors, about procedures before deciding on a treatment course. Helpline services will be available in Arabic and English. Regarding the new services, Dr Reddy said, “”Robotic surgery is the in thing today and has been used to treat different ailments. It has been a strong focus for Apollo Hospital in recent years.”” After the launch of the helpline, Dr Reddy spoke about the strides India has made in the healthcare sector, noting that healthcare services in India are today as professional as anywhere in the world. Dr.Prathap C Reddy spoke about Apollo’s new initiative, the Personalised Health Check (PHC), which is a “”new health check process that involves a pre-test assessment of an individual’s health by a health assessment consultant, based on which a package of tests is designed to cater to the specific needs of the customer.”” Speaking about plans for Apollo’s branch in Oman, Dr.Prathap C Reddy said, “”We have done our best to reach out to the patients of Oman through the Apollo Medical Centre, Sugar Clinic and the telemedicine facility, through which people living in Oman connect with Apollo group doctors in India. Over 50,000 patients from Oman have visited Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad.”” Dr K. Hari Prasad, CEO, Apollo Hospitals Group, also spoke during the gathering. Top specialists from India, Dr Sajan K. Hegde, spine surgeon; Dr V. Rajagopal, urologist; Dr Vijay Anand Reddy, oncologist; and Dr Anand Kakkar, liver transplant surgeon, participated in the Continuing Medical Education session. V. T. Saileshwaran, managing director of Apollo Medical Centre Oman, welcomed Dr Reddy to Oman and thanked him for his unstinted support to the branch.  

Entire nation along with the mother of nine month old Ericana and Eludi from Tanzania will pray for their survival and speedy recovery Pygopagus twins account for 17 percent of conjoint twin population in the world. Most common in females, only four cases of successful separation in males have been reported in medical history. A defining moment in the lives of nine month old Ericana and Eludi, who have been joined at the tail end of their spines and sharing a single anus and rectum this surgery, if it succeeds, could possibly promise normal lives as two separate individuals. Conjoined twins, though rarely encountered, are seen in one in 200,000 deliveries. However, more than 60% of them are stillborn while 35% of the remaining dies within a few days or months of birth due to various causes. Conjoined twins can be joined at the chest, abdomen, back, buttock and head. Fusion at the buttocks (Pygopagus) is very rare and accounts for less than 17% of all conjoined twins. Live born Pygopagus twins are usually female in sex while male pygopagus twins are extremely rare. Till now in medical literature only 30 sets of Pygopagus twins have been reported out of which 26 were female and only four were male. From Kasumulu to Vanagaram- the story of Ericana & Eludi: In June 2013, a young mother from a small village called ‘Kasumulu’ in Tanzania came to Apollo Children’s Hospital in Chennai with her 5 month old conjoint twin boys. Nine months ago when she went for delivery to the dispensary in her village she was shifted to the District Hospital to undergo a cesarean section. But to the doctors surprise there was enormous difficulty in delivering the babies out of the uterus as they were joined at the back. The mother was told that separation of the babies was fraught with risk and she was sent to the Mohimbili Hospital in the capital Dar es Salaam by ambulance. It took three days to make this journey with the new-borns. At Mohimbili the doctors contacted the health officials for advice regarding further action. Apollo Hospitals Chennai is closely associated with the Tanzanian government by the Save a Childs Heart Initiative (SACHI). The babies were therefore shifted to Apollo Children’s Hospital in Chennai at four and a half months of age. After extensive work up it was found that the babies were joined at the tail end of the spines and shared a single anus and rectum. They were also found to have a single phallus and urinary passage. “This set of male pygopagus twins for which separation is being attempted at Apollo Hospitals Chennai is the first in India. A unique and challenging aspect of the separation is the fused phallus, which has to be delicately separated to give each baby a functional penis. However, the separation of these babies is a mammoth task, which will take around 14 – 16 hours. Given the complexities involved, a chosen team of 20 doctors from the specialties of neurosurgery, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery and paediatric urology will attempt the separation.” said Dr Venkat Sripathi, Senior Consultant paediatric Urologist, Apollo Children’s Hospital, who is leading the much anticipated surgery. Dr. Edward Kiely – Pediatric Surgeon from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London has been invited to proctor the operation while Dr. Richard Howard – Anesthetist, also from Great Ormond Street Hospital will be there as an observer. Commenting on the case, Dr Roshini Gopinathan, Paediatric Plastic Surgeon, Apollo Children’s Hospital said, “The babies are now 9 months old and weigh 16 kgs. During the last five months tissue expanders have been placed in the back, buttocks and thighs so that skin flaps can be rotated to cover the large defects, which will be left after separation. However, we are positive that the separation of these babies fondly called ‘Ammukutty’ and ‘Chellakutty’ by the nurses in the Hospital will proceed uneventfully.” Apollo Specialty Hospital in Vanagaram is preparing itself for what could make history in the Indian medical fraternity. Sharing her excitement on Apollo attempting yet another medical marvel, Suneeta Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, said “The family has been with us for close to five months now and are very dear to us. In fact the babies have even learnt to say Thatha’ and ‘Athai’ and the mother has picked up a smattering of Tamil as well. We are glad that The Tanzanian government has generously funded part of the treatment while Apollo Hospitals has subsidized the remainder of the cost involved in the separation and after care. We are hopeful about a positive outcome under the care and expertise of our highly skilled surgeons who have been handpicked to operate on them.”  

Holders of the card, which will be issued at the bank’s discretion, will be able to avail discounts of 20 per cent for preventive health care packages at Apollo Hospitals, 15 per cent for in-patient and outpatient medical investigations, in-patient room rent, Apollo products at Apollo Pharmacy, 10 per cent for pharmaceutical products and 5 per cent for other products bought at Apollo Pharmacy. “With the launch of this card, we hope to provide access to quality healthcare services for our valued customers. We naturally chose to associate with Apollo Hospitals for this venture because they are a leader in corporate health-care in India,” said T M Bhasin, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Bank. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, also said that the card fit in their mission to provide healthcare of international standards to every individual. “The launch of this card offers a convenient and affordable health solution to Indian Bank customers.” The card will initially be issued to 7,000 customers in Chennai as a pilot project and will eventually be issued to over 2 lakh customers all over India.  

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who spoke on the wisdom of compassion to patients and staff of the hospital, graced the event. Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group along with several dignitaries was also present on the occasion. The Apollo Hospitals has been a pioneer in organ transplantation in the country. The program with 1200 liver and kidney transplants in 2012 became the world’s busiest and while celebrating the anniversary, His Holiness The Dalai Lama applauded the patients and their families for the fortitude shown by them. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “Compassion is an understanding of the emotional state of another. It is a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of another or to show special kindness to those who suffer. I am glad to be a part of this gathering, celebrating the joy of overcoming ailments and encouraging one and all to be part of promoting healthy living.” More than 200,000 Indians require organ transplantation annually An estimated 20,000 liver transplants are required per year in India It is estimated that one lac brain deaths take place per year in India Organ donation rate in India is 0.05 per million compared to 33 per millon in Spain Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy said, “I on behalf of the entire Apollo family would like to thank His Holiness for gracing the occasion today. His Holiness is a global thought leader and to hear him today was as wonderful as ever. His enlightened words on compassion have left an indelible mark on me. We at Apollo Hospitals pledge to do our utmost to touch a billion lives in whatever way possible. A small step towards that is our pledge to sponsor and help five children of Tibetan origin with cardiac ailments at our hospitals every year. I would also like to congratulate our transplant team for becoming the world’s busiest in transplants. This is a testament to our expertise and untiring determination to make the nation proud.” Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Group and Senior Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology said, “today indeed is a meaningful day as 200 transplant recipients and their families received blessings from His Holiness and they will share what was a truly divine experience with the 15300 other families who have received a liver or a kidney transplant at Apollo Hospitals. Our doctors, nurses and all the staff of our hospitals are fortunate to have received His Holiness’s blessings in person today” Apollo Hospitals, under the aegis of the Gift A Life (www.giftalife.org) initiative has been an active partner in advocating and undertaking activities aimed at promoting the cause of organ donation. The mission of Gift A Life is to ensure that no person in India dies for want of an organ. The initiative has been running successfully for the past two years, where the initiative has been associated with a varied likeminded institutions and partners across the country to conduct awareness drives amongst people on organ donation.

Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, have adopted ‘Sharan’, a white tiger, for a period of one year under the animal adoption scheme offered at the Nehru Zoological Park. The zoo said till date there had been 32 animal adoptions for which it received Rs. 56.28 lakh and described the response to the scheme as ‘encouraging’ and said efforts will continue for more participation.  

Apollo Hospitals performed the first heart transplant surgery from its facility in Hyderabad on a 19-year old student, Veer Anjaneyulu, suffering with dilated cardiomyopathy. The case is related to end-stage heart failure leading to depression of heart muscle. The operation was performed on 11th November by Dr Vijay Dixit, Chief of Cardiothoracic surgery, Apollo Hospitals. Dilated cardiomyopathy was very common in India and can be treated through drugs. However, in cases where it can’t be cured it leads to end-stage failure which would be dealt only through a heart transplant. In this particular case, the hospital was supported by Jeevandan Project of the Andhra Pradesh government, and the city’s traffic Police in successfully harvesting the donor heart and transporting it to the hospital.