The Critical Care Units of Apollo Main Hospital, Chennai and Apollo Speciality Hospital, Madurai were ranked as ‘Best of Best’ for applying evidence based nutrition practices for managing critically ill patients. This award was based on International Nutrition Survey conducted across 183 Critical Care Units worldwide. This is the first time that a unit from India has received this recognition. The accomplishment is a true reflection of team effort involving doctors, clinical dieticians and nurses. Dr. N.Ramakrishnan, Director, Critical Care Services and Dr. Bhuvaneshwari, Group Chief Dietician represented the team and received the award during the 35th Annual International Conference of American Society of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) held in January 2012 at Orlando, USA.  

A unique celebration of love at Delhi organised by Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals. Even as thousands exchange cards and roses, 40 couples from across the country, where one partner has donated a vital organ such as a kidney, or a part of the liver to their spouse, come together to raise a toast to their partner’s ‘new life’. Dr. Anupam Sibal, organising the bash at India Habitat Centre said, “What can be a bigger symbol of love than giving a part of yourself to the one you love? We thought why not honour such selfless love by inviting these couples. Transplant is like rebirth, and people who have gone through it owe their lives to their partners.” Interestingly, in all 40 couples attending the party, the wife has donated the kidney or liver to the husband. “Wives strongly outnumber husbands as donors, and are the first to offer their organ to save the husband’s life,” says Dr Sibal. One such woman, 35-year-old school teacher Anju Verma from Delhi, who has donated half her liver to her husband, says, “”My world came crashing when I found out that my husband’s liver is badly damaged. But, when I got to know about liver transplant, my hope returned. Despite my husband’s resistance, I went ahead. That was the only way to get him back, and I could not have been happier.”” She adds that she is excited about attending the Valentine’s Day party with her recovering husband. Another invitee, Satpal, 29, will come to the party with his wife Mandeep Kaur, 28, who donated a part of her liver to him last year. “”This will be our best Valentine’s Day celebration, as we will spend the evening with couples like us who know what we’ve been through. I have no words to express my love for Mandeep. All I can say is that we were one soul, and we have become one body now,”” says the young automotive mechanic in a choked voice. Lawyer RP Goel, 55, whose wife donated him her kidney, shares Satpal’s sentiments, “”It may not be our age to celebrate Valentine’s Day but I am really looking forward to joining the party, as it’s a celebration of a different kind. Love makes you do the bravest of things. My wife’s unconditional love made her give me her kidney. My life is hers, and that’s what I am going to tell her in front of everyone ,”” he says.  

Apollo Hospitals Group today unveiled a breakthrough MRI-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) solution from Philips at its Hospital in Chennai. This was announced by Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group and Mr. Krishna Kumar, President, Philips Healthcare, India, here, today. MRI Guided HIFU offers a non-invasive alternative to the traditional treatments for uterine fibroids in women. It combines magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). The benefits for women include – no surgery, no radiation, no scar, no anesthesia, quicker recovery, more precise image guided treatment and only little stress. The technology has tremendous applications in the non-invasive treatment of benign and malignant tumors. The MRI Guided HIFU system was first clinically approved for the treatment of non-cancerous tumors like uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growth of the uterus that often appears during childbearing years. Also called myomas, uterine fibroids aren’t associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer and almost never develop into cancer. As many as 1 out of 4 women have uterine fibroids sometime during their lives, but most are unaware of them because they often cause no symptoms. The doctor may discover them incidentally during a pelvic exam or prenatal ultrasound. In women who have symptoms, the most common symptoms of uterine fibroids include heavy menstrual bleeding, prolonged menstrual periods (seven days or more of menstrual bleeding), pelvic pressure or pain, frequent urination, difficulty emptying your bladder, constipation, backache or leg pains. Existing treatment options for women included medication or surgical removal of fibroids. In contrast to the existing treatment options of surgery to remove fibroids, MR guided HIFU is a non invasive ablative procedure that helps all women especially those in the reproductive stage. It offers good symptomatic relief with no post operative complications, no scarring and reduced hospital stay. Hence this procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis, with the patient leaving the hospital the same day and almost fully recovered within a few days. The MR-HIFU system uses safe and focused ultrasound waves to heat and coagulate benign or cancerous tumor tissue deep inside the body without damaging intervening tissues. Apollo Hospitals is the first chain of hospitals to introduce MRI- HIFU system in India. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said “Apollo has always adopted the latest in technology to provide the very best care to the patients, HIFU is one such which is safe, radiation-free, and a boon for women with fibroids. The new MR-guided HIFU offers an extremely doctor and patient friendly treatment option. It is guided by magnetic resonance for three-dimensional planning of the procedure and offers real time temperature monitoring during the ablation to control the amount of energy delivered to the tissue by the HIFU machine. Apollo will have this technology at all its hospitals.” Mr. Krishna Kumar, President, Philips Healthcare India, said, “The future of medicine in our view will be image-guided, non-invasive and without radiation, and MRI-HIFU represents the convergence of these 3 principles for improving the lives of women with uterine fibroids and people with malignant tumors. The launch of MRI-HIFU is yet another testimonial to Philips’ commitment to bring cutting-edge innovations to solve key healthcare challenges like tumors that face India.”  

WHITE Dental Care, an initiative by the Apollo Hospitals Group, is to bring world Class dentistry to India and to light up a billion smiles across India and making it glow on the world map as a Nation free of dental problems and pain. WHITE Dental Wellness initiative will be implemented in four different formats – EXPRESS, CLINICS, STUDIO and SPA, all across India, starting from 6th Feb 2012. The Current Apollo Dental Centres are renamed and repositioned as “”WHITE DENTAL CLINIC”” (An Apollo Hospitals Group Initiative) to make these services accessible and affordable to all sections of the society, thus enhancing Dental Hygiene and Wellness across India. WHITE Dental Care is an Apollo Hospitals Group Initiative, which is formed as a Joint venture, which combines the Trust, Experience and Clinical expertise of Apollo with the Precision, Value and Technology of Trivitron Healthcare, to provide State of the Art Dental Care across India and other emerging markets of the world providing the usual Tender Loving Care in Apollo’s Way in the field of Dentistry. The launch of WHITE Dental Brand was formally announced and India’s First ‘Seven Star’ Dental SPA at Chennai, was inaugurated by Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, along with Mrs Aishwarya R Dhanush, renowned South Indian Film personality, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. For further information, please visit www.whitedentalcare.in    

  On the Occasion of World Cancer Day (February 4), Apollo Cancer Institute, Chennai organized series of activities to spread cancer awareness. Kollywood Actor & reputed Radio Jockey John Vijay inaugurated an exclusive workshop on Cancer Prevention that was organized by Apollo Cancer Institute, Chennai, where in more than 500 Participants from NGOs, Self-Help Groups, Colleges, Female Welfare Institutions participated & and took pledge to spread the message around by every possible means. During the workshop Dr. Sankar Srinivasan, Senior Consultant, Oncologist, Apollo Cancer Institute elucidated on the need of early detection and prevention of cancer. As a part of this awareness drive free cancer screening was offered to more than 700 women. Around 1000 students from various colleges formed human chains at various points in the city, raising slogans and carrying placards. They sensitized the people to the hazardous effects of tobacco, alcohol and narcotics & the need for maintaining a healthy lifestyle & go for regular cancer screening. Pamphlets emphasizing the message of “Say no tobacco & alcohol” were also distributed to the public. Researchers suggest that one-third of cancer deaths can be avoided through prevention, and another third through early detection and treatment. Creating awareness is the only way to make people undergo preventive health check-ups. If cancer is detected early it is easy to treat, manage the disease and also the cost of treatment reduces drastically. On this Special Occasion, John Vijay also released the Special Issue of “Apollo Life”, which is dedicated to Cancer. On this Apollo Life, Special Cancer Issue Dr. Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals & Editor-in-Chief, Apollo Life said, “With 8, 00,000 new cancer cases in India alone, the disease has become so rampant that I’m quite certain that all of us know of someone who has been affected with cancer, or even had a loved one suffering from it. Thus we decided to develop an exclusive edition on cancer care which covers wide-ranging topics from simple preventive measures to rare types of cancers to technological advancements in treating the disease. With this issue, we wish to reaffirm our pledge to fight harder in the battle against the adversary called cancer.” Ms. Upasna, Publisher & Executive Editor of Apollo Life highlights the World Health Organization’s finding that early detection greatly increases the chances of successful cancer treatment, revealing that “We have developed specific Health Risk Assessment scans that can predict an individual’s risk of getting cancer. Prevention is certainly better than cure.”  

Rupees 19 Lakhs were needed to save the life of a poor patient who was suffering from Liver Cirrhosis and Hypothyroidism but unfortunately Satpal did not have money for his treatment. In this situation, Apollo Hospitals took a decision to conduct his surgery, free of cost. Patient Satpal Singh says that Apollo, in particular Dr. Subash Gupta gave him a new life. I am alive because of the efforts of Dr. Subash otherwise rest of the hospitals had lost all hopes considering my condition. According to Dr. Subash Gupta, Satpal was suffering from Hypothyroidism, in this situation which appears because of additional thyroid hormone secreted in his body. He was also suffering from swelling in his feet and ankles. Different tests were conducted for this and it was found that he was not only suffering from hypothyroidism but also with diseases like liver cirrhosis. His liver was damaged. The only solution for this was liver transplantation but a Liver transplantation surgery is quite costly. Satpal needed 19 lakhs for this surgery but he did not have that much money. But at last, a successful life saving surgery was conducted free of cost. According to Dr. Subash Gupta, 30 year old Satpal’s situation was so critical that his surgery took a long time. Even after the surgery his situation was quite critical and he was kept in ventilator for 36 hours. Transplant surgeons handled the situation very efficiently and slowly Satpal’s situation got better. Now, Satpal is completely fit.  

Apollo Reach Hospitals, Karaikudi, was inaugurated on the 26th of December, 2011, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. The Guests of Honour at the inauguration were Union Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India, Shri P Chidambaram and His Excellency, The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr. K. Rosaiah. Apollo Reach Hospitals, Karaikudi, underlines Apollo’s vision to take high quality health care to every corner of our country. The Heart of India lives in its villages & towns, and only a healthcare model that encompasses all of India is complete, comprehensive and effective. Apollo Hospitals has revolutionized Indian healthcare for close to three decades. It has driven a long list of pioneering achievements that have been instrumental in India emerging as a global healthcare destination. Today, Apollo is leading the march to take healthcare to a billion lives. It’s a mission that will draw strength from the strong foundation of clinical excellence, expertise and deep experience. Innovative delivery models like telemedicine, mHealth and Reach Hospitals will make it more robust. We urge the nation for its support to help us take quality healthcare closer to every Indian. A healthy India is a more vibrant India, a more powerful India ! Apollo Reach Hospitals, Karaikudi – powered by the collective expertise of the Apollo Group is a multi-speciality tertiary care hospital with the following features & services : 110-beds 3 state-of-the-art Modular Theatres Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – 5 Beds with Ventilator (Galileo) & comprehensive state-of-the-art instrumentation Services in 21 specialities including Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, Emergency & Critical Care and Preventive Care 24×7 fully functional Emergency Care Cutting-edge Laboratory & Diagnostic facility and CT Scan Cath Lab backed by ACLS- Ambulance and Blood product distribution centre, equipped to provide Emergency & Critical Care Services Endoscopy Suites and Dialysis Services Comprehensive Health Screening Programs

Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, organized an event, ‘Celebrating Life’, to commemorate ‘Cancer Survivor’s Day’. More than 50 cancer patients attended the event held at the hospital premises. ‘Celebrating Life’ acknowledged the never-say-die spirit of cancer patients who have survived the disease against all odds. Dr Harsh Dua, Sr Consultant Oncology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said: “Due to the latest advances in cancer research, cancer is looked upon without dread just like any other disease. We want society to realize this fact and integrate this positive approach towards life in interactions with cancer patients, thereby improving the mental, physical and qualitative aspects of patients’ lives.” Living with cancer has a number of important aspects. The disease affects the finances, relationships, emotional state and even the daily routine of patients. Despite all this, it’s not necessary that everyone who gets cancer will die from it. There are many people with cancer who have undergone treatment successfully. For such patients, their cancer is an ongoing health problem that can be controlled by strictly following the treatment regimen. During the two-hour long event, patients spoke about their single-minded journey from despair to hope after their cancer was diagnosed. As a wave of spreading positivity a Hasya Kavi Sammelan was organized where noted humourist Surinder Sharma and others participated. All the cancer survivors were felicitated for their irrepressible passion for life that ensured they did not lose hope. Highlighting the magic that science has performed in the field of oncology or cancer treatment, a magic show was also part of the event.

The Food and Beverage Department of Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals (AGH), Kolkata is the FIRST F & B Department of any Hospital in India to get the coveted ISO 22000:2005 – HACCP certification. It is certified by British Standards Institution (BSIUK). The ISO 22000:2005 – HACCP final survey was conducted during July 27 – 29, 2011 and the AGH F&B conformed to all standards and guidelines. The ISO 22000:2005 – HACCP certification is valid for three years. The scope of the survey and certification includes “”Receipt, Storage, Preparation and Delivery of Cooked and Uncooked Food for In House Patients, Outdoor Patients and Food & Beverage Outlets””. ISO 22000(HACCP) is a food safety management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. The recommendations and guidelines were being implemented since last one and half year. It involved systematic planning and documentation, rigorous process improvement and delivery of safe food to our patients and clients.

Gautam Gambhir, one of India’s top cricketers, launched ‘Gift A Life’ initiative at Delhi. The initiative along with its website is supported by the Apollo Transplant Institutes, to encourage people to take a pledge for donating organs to save countless lives in the process. The mission of ‘Gift A Life’ is to ensure that no person in India dies for want of an organ. This public awareness initiative aims to bring together information and awareness on the issue of organ donation. The website endeavors to start and then sustain a movement on organ donation and awareness. Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director and Senior Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, said, “We desperately need to create awareness about organ donation while in Spain 33 per million population organ donations take place, in India the rate is 0.1 per million population. It is now more than 15 years since the law declaring brain death came into effect in India, yet there is limited awareness that one individual can gift lives to atleast 8 patients with organ failure. As a clinician it really pains to lose a child for want of an organ.” Taking the pledge, Gautam Gambhir said, “Thousands die every year for want of organs and I feel through initiatives like ‘Gift a Life’ we can do society good by bridging the gap. I appeal to the media to create awareness about organ donation. I would like to urge everyone to make this decision to donate their organs.” Leading specialists from Apollo Hospitals were present at the Press Conference held for the launch, showcasing their support towards the initiative. Shortage of donors and organs has impeded the necessary thrust required to save more lives. More than one lakh people need replacement treatment for their ailments and living donors suffice only a fraction of the demand. ‘Gift A Life’ would like to encourage everyone to pledge to donate their organs simply by signing up on the website – www.giftalife.org.

Apollo Group Hospitals has been listed among the Top 10 in various categories by the WEEK Best Hospitals in India Survey, 2021. Apollo Hospitals Chennai has been rated as the Best Private Sector Multi-Speciality Hospital in India ! The WEEK/HANSA Research Survey on the best hospitals in India was conducted in 15 cities-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. As many as 399 general practitioners and 438 specialists, including cardiologists, ophthalmologists, oncologists and diabetologists participated in the survey and gave their opinions on the hospitals listed for the survey. The following parameters were used for rankings: competency of doctors, infrastructure/facilities available in the hospital, innovation in treatment, availability of multiple specialities, patient care and hospital environment (cleanliness/quietness).   The Ranking of Apollo Group Hospitals in various categories are listed below :   OVERALL BEST MULTI-SPECIALITY HOSPITALS IN INDIA Apollo Hospitals Chennai – Ranked as the Best Private Sector Hospital in India BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITALS IN INDIA IN CARDIOLOGY Apollo Hospitals Chennai – Rank 2 BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITALS IN INDIA IN NEUROLOGY Apollo Hospitals Chennai – Rank 6 BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN KOLKATA Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals – Rank 1 BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN AHMEDABAD Apollo Hospitals Ahmedabad – Rank 2 BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN DELHI Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals Delhi – Ranked 1 – the Best Private Sector Super-Speciality Hospital in Delhi BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN CHENNAI Apollo Hospitals Chennai – Rank 1 – the Best Super-Speciality Hospital in Chennai BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN HYDERABAD Apollo Health City Hyderabad – Rank 1 – the Best Super-Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN INDIA IN ONCOLOGY Apollo Hospitals Chennai – Rank 3 BEST SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN BHUBANESWAR Apollo Hospitals Bhubaneswar – Rank 2 BEST MULTISPECIALITY HOSPITALS IN BENGALURU Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road – Rank 2 The hospitals to be rated had been selected through rigorous research after evaluating more than 804 hospitals, across cities and disciplines, thus ensuring a fair chance for almost all hospitals to be featured in the list.

Making diabetes management effective – the principle aim of the integrated diabetes management program of the hospital. Aimed at combating the menace of diabetes in India, Apollo group of hospitals will launch 100 Sugar Clinics around the country in 90 days. These clinics will manage the life cycle of a diabetic and work towards minimizing the associated morbidity and mortality. These clinics working on a specifically developed clinical pathway will offer standardized care to the diabetic patients. India is grappling with lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, stroke, obesity and diabetes. But the problem is not just that, it is also estimated that over the next decade lifestyle diseases will grow at the faster rate than infectious diseases in the country. Diabetes in India is no longer considered an epidemic; it has crossed that level and now has become an exorbitantly growing large public health problem. With sedentary lifestyle, the prevalence of diabetes in India has reached the point of 3.7% of the total population. In the 1970s, only 2.1% of the total Indian population living in urban areas was diabetic. Today that figure touches the mark of 12.1% for adults over the age of 20. The incidence is higher in the south than in the north, particularly in cities such as Chennai and Hyderabad, where about 16% of the population is diabetic. India has been referred as a diabetes capital of the World by the International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries as 1.4 million new cases of Diabetes get detected in the country each year. With the sharp increase in the number of diabetic cases in the country, absence of proper facilities to manage this sugar disease is an additional challenge. It is estimated that India spends almost $21 billion on managing diabetes. The cost of managing the complications of this disease is in multiples of the actual cost of treatment of the disease. Diabetes reaches to the stage of complication due to lack of awareness, compliance, proper facilities and knowledge about multi-functional approach. Controlling blood sugar levels, reducing the pharmaceutical requirement for controlling blood sugar levels, close monitoring and early intervention for complications of diabetes are important components of managing diabetes. This needs a holistic approach. In the absence of an integrated diabetes management program in India, Apollo group of Hospitals puts a foot forward in introducing an integrated mechanism that manages diabetes efficiently and prevents the complications of the disease. Sugar Clinics brings together a program that offers a 360 degree approach to managing diabetes. Sugar Clinics offer exclusive facilities catering to all the needs of a diabetic. “Education and wellness management will help reduce the rising incidence of lifestyle diseases. One of these is Diabetes. Keeping in mind the rising burden of Diabetes, India would need an integrated framework that would enable diabetics manage their lifestyle better. This would ensure reduction and prevention of complications, which is a key for these patients.” says Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Group of Hospitals. Apollo Sugar Clinic is a complete and integrated solution to manage diabetes and offers customized solutions to different sections of the diabetic population. Upload/Update of Sugar count on SMS/mobile application, personalized web page for each patient, and 24X7 call centres are some of the features of this program. According to Ms. Sangita Reddy, Executive Director – Operations, Apollo Group of Hospitals “We are providing a truly world class diabetes disease management program at the Sugar Clinic by introducing evidence based practice as a formidable tool to decide on treatment strategies in diabetes. We are now embarking on a path to take Sugar Clinics nationwide. We have 13 fully functional facilities having Sugar Clinics and will have 100 of them up and running in the next 90 days.” By introducing the Sugar Clinics in every nook and corner of the country, Apollo group of Hospitals puts forward their concern of providing a better quality of life for diabetes patients across the country.