Apollo Centre of Advanced Pediatrics (ACAP), Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, India’s First Internationally Accredited Hospital offering state-of-the art tertiary care in various pediatric specialties, announced the commencement of a unique five-day course. This course, will be conducted under the able guidance of National and International faculty will cover important topics in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Liver Transplantation and Nutrition. It is for the first time that such a course is being organized in India. The course will commence on 28th August and end on 1st September 2013. This course will be spearheaded by global stalwarts. Prof. Deirdre Kelly, Pediatric Hepatology, Liver Unit, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, UK; Prof. Kathleen Schwarz, Pediatric, Director Pediatric Liver Centre, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA; Prof. Berthold Koletzko, Div. Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. Von Hauner Child’s Hospital, Univ. of Munich Medical Centre, Germany; Prof. Olivier O Goulet, Director Dept. of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, National Reference Centre of Rare Digestive Diseases, Paris and Dr. Mike Thomson, Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Interventional Endoscopist, Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Sheffield University Medical School, England. Distinguished national faculty from across the country has confirmed participation. Dr. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “”Apollo Hospitals has always laid emphasis on clinical excellence. To excel clinically, it is essential for clinicians to update their knowledge and hence we continue to organsie such international courses. We have 600 graduate trainees in 32 disciplines and to provide an academic milieu we have created a pan year robust CME program””. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Sr. Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and the course director said “”upto 30% of patients visiting pediatricians have a gastrointestinal or liver problem. It is, therefore, important that we help share the latest treatment guidelines with pediatricians. This year marks 15 years of the first successful liver transplant in India at Apollo Hospital Delhi and so we felt that the time was right to discuss complex management issues in transplantation as well. “The overriding goal of the program is to present doctors with a platform aimed at equipping them to deal with practical issues in gastroenterology, hepatology, liver transplantation and nutrition more effectively” said Dr. Sarath Gopalan,Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and Associate Course Director. In the last 15 years, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi has performed 1500 pediatric and adult transplants of which 842 have been performed in the last three years with a success rate of 90%. The cost of a liver transplant has come down considerably following the increase in the number of transplants being performed. Nowadays, the average cost of a transplant for a child is Rs 15 lakh. This is 1/10th the cost in Western countries but with outcomes comparable to the best centres in the West.  

“It is widely perceived that women have a lower risk of suffering from heart attack when compared to men. But that is a myth. Women have natural protection till a certain age but after menopause the risk of heart attack in women is higher than that of men. Heart disease is a bigger threat for women than cancer,”” Reddy said on the sidelines of the silver jubilee celebrations of Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad. Stressing on the of importance of regular checkups for women, he pointed out that unlike men who usually have chest pain during heart attack, there are usually no symptoms of heart attack for women. From today, Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad will be opening its doors for women to go for health checkup from 6pm to 7pm every day. Dr. Reddy also warned that the incidence of heart attack has been rising among the youth with the number of cases increasing every year. A cardiologist himself, Reddy had warned earlier that heart disease was going to be the biggest challenge for the healthcare industry in India. “”In two decades from now there will not be enough doctors, nurses or hospitals to treat heart patients. We need to bring awareness about the disease so that people can prevent it,” Reddy said.  

On its 25th anniversary in Hyderabad (the group, headquartered in Chennai, has completed 30 years) the Group Founder and Chairman, Dr Prathap C Reddy said the University of Rochester Medical Centre (URMC) will work with Apollo Hospitals in areas of Clinical Care, Education and Research across multiple specialties which include Gastroenterology, Emergency Medicine and Neurosciences. Medical education will be the primary focus in the initial phase of collaboration. The two intend to exchange faculty and trainees, engage in joint research studies, and develop shared approaches to patient care. Dr. Reddy also announced the launch of a program called “”Healthy Schools”” to screen school children. The program includes a health check, maintenance of health records, and health education. A fifty thousand worth treatment will be provided for accidents (students and parents). The program is being offered at Rs 200 per student per year. Schools that implement it will receive the “”healthy schools”” branding. If students are unable to afford this program, Apollo Hospitals will arrange donors to support them financially. According to Reddy, the “”goal is to have a million school children enrolled in this program in a year.”” In Hyderabad, Apollo began with a 150 bed hospital on August 12, 1988. It now offers 650 beds. Overall, Apollo Hospitals today has around 8400 beds and hopes to cross 10,000 by the end of 2014.  

Apollo Hospitals, the first super-specialty hospital in Andhra Pradesh and the first functional Health City in Asia has completed 25 years in service of the community. Launched on 27 August, 1988 as a 150 bedded hospital, today it is a global healthcare destination. This was the first hospital in Andhra Pradesh (the only hospital in Andhra Pradesh to date) to be accredited by the Joint Commission International, USA and was also the first hospital in the world to be certified for management of stroke. The hospital has received Awards from Hospital Management, Asia, FICCI Healthcare Awards, Avaya Global Connect Awards, G20 Award, Super brand and a variety of others as well. Technological supremacy, continuous skill enhancement and an environment of innovation coupled with our patient centric approach have been critical to the success of Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.  

“Little Lavanya’s parents wants to give their baby that special moment to cherish all their life. So they ensured their first born came into the world in the lap of luxury-‘The Cradle’. Sudhir Diggikar, Director – Secondary Care Services at Apollo Hospital explains, “At Cradle, the main idea is that a woman should be able to deliver her baby in an environment of comfort. Therefore, we have a dedicated and compassionate team of doctors and nurses who offer personalized care for the mother and the child.” At ‘The Cradle’, fathers are also encouraged to be part of the birthing process while, the mother is made to relax with soothing music of her choice. This helps make the process a little easier for her. Cradle – a venture by Apollo Hospitals, India, aims to make the special moment more memorable. The Cradle is a high-end, premium boutique birthing centre, which has been conceived exclusively to satisfy the service and quality needs of a younger generation of Indians. The Cradle is unlike anything you have heard about or seen before. Think of it as a world-class healthcare facility that offers 5-star hotel amenities. This facility offers services of international standards in a premium environment while creating an unforgettable experience for the mother and her family in welcoming their bundle of joy into the world. Cradle is designed with thought in mind. Effort has been taken to make to make the ambiance as comfortable and as homely as possible. The Cradle is filled with soft baby colors. The rooms are large, spacious and comfortably furnished. The staff is specially trained to meet every requirement of the mother and the new born.  

Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata launches a new department “”Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre””, a brand new support and service oriented department. The hospital which has always aimed at providing holistic and complete treatment to its patients has taken this endeavour of theirs forward with the opening of the new centre. The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre was launched by Ms Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group in the presence of Dr Rupali Basu, CEO, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals and Dr. Sanjay Chatterjee, Consultant and Head, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre. The Department of Physical medicine and Rehabilitation at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata delivers the highest quality services within a new state-of-the-art facility in the hospital campus. The services that are on offer at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre are: Basic and advanced back pain program Basic and advanced knee OA rehab programs Basic and advanced stroke rehab programs Shoulder programs ( non-operative and post-operative) Fall and balance programs (Basic and advanced) Thera conditioning programs Thera retraining programs Paediatric Neuro developmental, including Cerebral palsy Rehab programs Sports counselling for children and orientation program Sports injury management program Yoga counselling and orientation program Fitness and nutrition program  

Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata fulfilled its promise of providing the best in healthcare to its valued patients by giving a new life to yet another child patient suffering from a critical cyst similar to a second head. Eight month old, baby Tofajjal was born with a rare and unheard condition of Encephalomeningocele. The infant who was far from leading a normal life like children of his age has shown signs of speedy recovery post the surgery and is getting back to his regular activities. This extraordinary surgery is the first of its kind in the entire country. The treating surgeon, Dr Sisir Das, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery – Apollo Gleneagles Institute of Neurosciences, said, this is indeed a rare variety of Neurosurgery as incidence rate of such type of cases is as low as 1 out of 45,000. In a life time, one comes across only one or two such cases. Also, here the challenging part was involvement of the brain component and Superior Sagital Sinus. Our team effort has proven successfully in this complex surgery. The Baby is doing fine and is being discharged. This surgery is a milestone achieved in Healthcare in this part of India. We are now performing excellent quality of work which is at par with international benchmarking at regular basis. Dr. Rupali Basu, CEO, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals and Eastern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group, further added,”This surgery is indeed a miracle and among the most complex and challenging ones performed in this hospital till date. We are very proud of being the only hospital in the entire country to have performed a surgery of this nature successfully. Apart from the child’s parents, it is also a very emotional moment for all of us at the hospital. We wish the child all the very best for a promising future”.  

Long way to go in transplants Though our transplant surgeons are among the best in the world, there is a long way to go as far as transplants are concerned, said Dr Prathap C Reddy, Apollo Hospitals Chairman. Speaking on the occasion of World Organ Donation Day, the founder of the Apollo empire said, “”Despite steps taken by the government to promote cadaver organ donation in the capital, the gap between demand and supply is only widening. Though it is heartening to know that Tamil Nadu is one of the top states in terms of organ donation, we have to do a lot more towards increasing the organ donation count in India and saving precious lives.” Gift a Life, an initiative supported by Apollo Hospitals that actively promotes organ donation, had a whopping 10,328 employees of the Apollo network including Dr Prathap C Reddy, sign on to pledge their organs post brain death. In 2012 alone, Apollo carried out 1200 transplants, a fact that testifies the increasing demand for organs. Ironically, each year hundreds of Indians die while waiting for an organ transplant. The reason for this is that there is acute imbalance between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant. The bridge between organs donated in the West and in India is huge – even now while 2.1 lakh Indians require kidney transplantation, only 3000 – 4000 kidney transplants are done on an average, annually. The situation is not very different in relation to heart transplants either – while around 4,000-5,000 patients in India require a heart transplant on an average each year, so far only 100 heart transplants have been conducted across the country. On the Contrary, USA does around 26 donations per million and Spain does around 35 donations per million people. Though Tamil Nadu’s organ donation rate is ten times the national average, there is a long road ahead, in terms of creating awareness on cadaveric donation and increasing this count for India. Dr Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals said, “”We need people to tell their loved ones they want to be an organ donor so that, should the time come, their decision will be honoured.”  

By successfully performing the 700th Cochlear implant surgery, the Apollo Health City has written a new record in the service of hearing impaired during past two decades. This record feat by Apollo Health City was announced by Sangita Reddy, executive director, Apollo Hospitals Group and Dr K Rambabu, Sr. ENT Surgeon, Apollo Health City at Apollo Health City in Hyderabad. The clinic headed by renowned ENT surgeon, Dr E C Vinay Kumar and co-ordinated by Dr K Rambabu, attained this rare landmark on the patient Pooja Reddy who has recovered and attained hearing ability. A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. Unlike a hearing aid, Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Speaking on the occasion Sangita Reddy, said this is a milestone which has touched the lives of that many people. She said the implant is expensive and appealed to donors and corporates to come forward and support several others who are in need of cochlear implants. Off the 700 patients treated till now 300 were supported by Arogyasree and 350 others got support from SAHI (Society to Aid the Hearing Impaired, Apollo Hospitals, donors etc. Dr K Rambabu said, though it’s an expensive treatment, it gives an opportunity for the child to lead a normal life like anyone else post cochlear implantation. It is essential to create awareness about recognising deafness in children at an early stage. Latest technology is available to identify deafness and all children need to be screened for hearing. A child with cochlear implant can lead a normal life and their performance is no different, in fact some of them excel in studies. SAHI extends financial support of Rs. 2 lakh to male child and Rs. 2.5 lakh for female child, in case the child is not eligible under Aarogyasri SAHI.  

The workshop provided a forum for discussion on the advanced techniques in Interventional Cardiology that serve as a viable treatment option for Chronic Total Occlusion. World renowned Japanese Cardiologist Dr. Masahisa Yamane presented specialized techniques at Apollo Hospitals, Ayanambakkam One third of the patients with blocks in their coronary arteries have at least one artery that is completely blocked. These 100% blocks remain one of the main reasons for referring a patient to undergo a bypass surgery. Performing an angioplasty in these arteries requires a high level of skill and specialized hardware. Unlike the routine angioplasty, these blocks are made up of hardened tissues that are difficult to cross using routine guide wires and balloon catheters. The Japanese have developed highly specialised wires, balloons and catheters that are specifically used for treating these blocks. Since the Japanese believe that their soul would depart if their chest is opened during surgery, most of them avoid bypass surgeries. Hence the technique is highly developed in Japan. Dr. Yamane, who participated in the International Cardiac Workshop organised by the Apollo Hospitals, Ayanambakkam today, is a pioneer of these procedures and is one of the best doctors in the world in clearing 100% blocked arteries. Over the years, he has demonstrated highly advanced special techniques and skills during live case demonstrations. He has numerous international publications to his credit and is one of the most respected and invited live demonstrators from Japan. “India has consistently led game-changing developments in healthcare. With the advancement of modern technology, the quality of medical care that India provides and the values that India supports draw a parallel with any other leading country in the West. I hope the techniques discussed in this workshop encourage people in India to consider angioplasty as a viable alternative to surgery. I look forward to participating in similar collaborative efforts organised by Apollo Hospitals”. I would also like to add here that compassion is vital in healthcare as it has the ability to shape both patient and family experiences. I encourage doctors all over to build a climate of care and compassion at the heart of our health services”, said Dr. Masahisa Yamane, Director of the Cardiovascular division of the Sayama Hospital, Japan. “A 100% blocked artery does not mean a patient has to undergo a bypass surgery. Most of these blocks can be safely removed by performing an Angioplasty and the long term results are as good or are better than surgery. We are privileged that Dr. Yamane has come here to share his expertise and knowledge on the latest developments in cardiology with us. This will definitely open up new avenues for treatments of patients at Apollo”, said Dr. Anand Gnanaraj, Senior Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at the Apollo Hospitals, Ayanambakkam. For patients undergoing these procedures, recovery would be much faster as the chest need not be opened for surgery. One of the cases successfully done during the meeting was a 39 year old man’s with a 100% blocked artery. He was told that his only option was bypass surgery. Today he is free of his disease and is looking forward to a very productive life.  

With rising instances of accidents involving Children in the City, Doctor’s at Apollo Children’s Hospital (ACH) are making efforts to educate stakeholders on how many of these mishaps can be avoided by taking simple precautions. On the occasion of completing its 4th anniversary, ACH has issued a safety booklet among parents of patients on safety measures that parents can take at home to help prevent their children from getting hurt. Given the lifestyle we live today, it’s only natural for parents to get busy with their daily schedules requiring them to leave their children unattended or in someone else care for long hours. However, if simple measures can be adhered to, and children are made to understand how to take care of themselves when among strangers, a lot of mishaps can be avoided. Some precautions that parent can take include: Ensure kids are not left unattended while in the kitchen. Keep them away from hot objects like coking vessels and heating water Ensure that balconies and stairs inside home are child safe Ensure that Electrical wirings/sockets are sealed. Children need to be made aware on dangers involving fire or electricity Ensure that toxic items such as disinfectants and insecticides are kept locked away or at a height not reachable by children Ensure that medicines administered to Children are of the right dosage. If there are variations in the same medicine for adults and children, ensure the ones meant for children are used Ensure that children are not left unattended around pools of water. Even a bucket filled with water can prove to be dangerous for a toddler While commuting with Children, ensure they are wearing helmets if on bikes and are seated at the backseat with seatbelts if driving. While riding cycles, make it a practice for them to wear knee pads and helmet Monitor TV / Internet usage to control viewing habits. Instances of cybercrimes involving children are on the rise and parents need to keep a close watch to safeguard their child’s privacy Educate Children on how to tell difference between normal human contact and unusual contact that can make them feel uncomfortable. Encourage them to say no to experiences that make them feel uneasy and even gather attention by shouting / crying, if found cornered Above all, be prepared for emergencies by keeping first aid in handy. Doctor’s number and ambulance number should be on speed dial Addressing parents and children at the Hospital, Dr. Indira Jayakumar Senior Consultant, Pediatric Emergency and ICU, Apollo Children’s Hospital said “”A lot of the cases that come to us today are sadly instances which could have been easily prevented if the child was attended to or sensitized about personal safety. Children, given their curiosity and amicability, often find themselves in situations that can make them very vulnerable and susceptible to harm. While some situations can’t be averted, there are others that care providers need to be cognizant of. While at home parents should take ample safety measures, school administration should ensure there is first aid provision and teachers are trained in administering them.”” Child Safety awareness drive is yet another initiative from the stable of Apollo Hospital Groups to ensure children in the city are safe. Since all stakeholders involved need to be held accountable, Apollo Hospitals with support from Chennai Traffic Police has been conducting road accident safety awareness and emergency first aid administration training by paramedics for School Van Drivers and Auto Drivers who ferry school children.  

Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals participated in the North American Bengali Conference (NABC) 2013 held in Toronto, Canada from 5-7 July 2013. More than 5000 expat Bengalis from various cities of USA and Canada visited the 3 day long festival. Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals was the ‘Health Partner’ in NABC 2013. A Business Seminar was organized by Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce on the opening day. A wide range of topics were deliberated by the invited speakers from Canada, USA and India.