Could not find what you are looking for?
Apollo News (1072)
Clinical Excellence
10 years of JCI accreditation in India celebrated at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi
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”.
Milestones
175 cases in the Advanced Fever Clinic successfully treated by Prof. Dr. T.V.Devarajan at Apollo First Med Hos...
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.
Technology
Robotics help Apollo Children’s Hospital, Chennai transform the lives of 65 children from India and abro...
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.
Clinical Excellence
Apollo Hospitals, Chennai restructures shattered pelvic bone in just a day; treats patient who sustained multi...
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.”
New Initiatives
Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurates the first Telemedicine link between India and Cen...
Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the first telemedicine link between India and Central Asia and witnessed a Tele-consultation with Apollo Hospitals Delhi for a cardiac patient.
The Tele-consultation for a cardiac patient happened between doctors in Osh city in Southern Kyrgyzstan, with doctors in Bishkek and with Apollo hospital and AIIMS in Delhi.
Clinical Excellence
Apollo Children’s Hospital, Chennai successfully cures Hypertension in a child with rare tumor through a...
A 14 year old boy was admitted in Apollo Children’s Hospital, Chennai with severe Hypertension and a tumor in the chest. He was evaluated by Endocrinologist, Dr.S.Ramkumar. Investigations showed very high level of adrenaline in blood and a MIBG Scan confirmed the chest tumor and Hypertension due to a rare tumor called Paraganglioma.
The child was planned for Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) by Thoracic Surgeon, Dr.Rajiv Santosham. Tumors like Paraganglioma and Pheochromocytoma secrete excess catecholamines like adrenaline in the blood and cause uncontrolled swings in blood pressure during surgery. So his blood pressure was optimally controlled with medicines prior to surgery. After complete control of blood pressure, Dr. Rajiv Santosham successfully performed VATS to remove the tumor. Intra-operative course was managed by Anaesthetists, Dr. Sanjay Prabhu and Dr. Anuradha.
Paraganglioma and Pheochromocytoma are rare catecholamine adrenaline secreting tumors. While Pheochromocytoma occurs in the adrenal glands, Paragangliomas are extra-adrenal and occurs in the abdomen, head, neck and chest. Paragangliomas secrete adrenaline in an uncontrolled fashion and cause serious health problems including stroke, heart attack, and even death. In the child’s case, Paraganglioma was identified in his chest in mediastinum. This is the first time VATS has been reported to remove mediastinal paraganglioma in a child in India. After VATS, his blood pesssure normalised without anti-hypertensive drugs and he was discharged without any medicines.
VATS- Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery is a Minimally Invasive surgical technique in the chest. During VATS, a tiny camera (Thoracoscope) and surgical instruments are inserted into the chest through small incisions. The thoracoscope transmits images of the inside of the chest onto a video monitor, guiding the surgeon in performing the procedure. The traditional surgery done for these tumors was by open surgery called thoracotomy.When compared to thoracotomy, VATS result in less pain and shorten recovery time.
CT and MIBG images of the tumor
Events
Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi organises the 7th Asia Pacific Vascular Intervention Course
More than 1,000 delegates and faculty drawn from across the world attended the conference and it was thought to be one of the best and most attended conference in the Asia Pacific region.
The programme kicked off with an introductory speech by Course Chairman, Dr. (Prof.) N N Khanna, Advisor- Apollo Group of Hospitals, Dr. Michel Henry, Luxembourg, and Course Director, Dr. Saroj Das from Imperial College of London.
Dr. Amal Kumar Banerjee (Past President, CSI, API and SAARC Society of Cardiology) and Dr. H K Chopra (President, CSI) were present along with Dr. Clifford Buckley (President, ISES, USA), Dr. Jacques Busquet (Ambassador, ISES, France) and Dr. T J Collins (Governor, SCAI, USA).
The field of Endovascular Interventions is rapidly growing as its Minimally Invasive techniques offer an immediate and long termadvantageover traditional surgery. 35 International and about 80 National experts concluded that Endovascular Intervention today is state-of-the-art treatment for – Peripheral Arterial Diseases, Carotid Artery Stenosis, Failed or failing dialysis access, Aneurysms of Aorta, Deep vein thrombosis, Pulmonary Embolism, Varicose veins, Critical Limb Ischemia, Internal Pudendal Artery Stenting for Male Erectile Dysfunction, and Interventions for Acute Stroke, etc.
The International Faculty included many of the acknowledged pioneers and innovators in the field, such as Dr. Alain Cribier (France), who is the inventor of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, Dr. Michel Henry (Luxembourg), Dr. Clifford Buckley (USA), Dr. T J Collins (USA), Dr. Jacques Busquet (France), Dr. Amira Benjelloun (Morocco), Dr. Frank Criado (USA), Dr. Ramesh Adiraju (USA), Dr. Saroj Das (UK), Dr. Dai Do Do (Switzerland), Dr. Jaafer Golzar (USA), Dr. Sherif Sultan (Ireland) and Dr. Victor Costache (Romania), Dr. M Bouayed (Algeria), Dr. Hugo Rio Tinto (Portugal), Dr. K K Yeo (Singapore) and Mr. Noureddine Frid (Belgium), inventor of Multilayer Flow Modulator.
The format of the conference consisted of didactic lectures, Live Case Transmissions from various sites in Asia Pacific region, angiographic reviews of challenging cases, Iron Man Competition, and nine workshops with ample opportunities for interaction with faculty. Multilayer Flow Modulator (MFM) was launched in this Conference after its initial approval just a few days ago.
The Course is intended to be a truly collaborative cross-specialty training event incorporating the “”Interventionalists”” of the present and the future.
Events
Apollo celebrates the power of Yoga across 55 hospitals on International Yoga Day!
International Yoga day was celebrated across all our 55 hospitals, with over 2500 employees participating in a special Yoga session. “Yoga is a wonderful health system given to us by our gurus and we in India need to appreciate Yoga and the benefits it gives us in keeping ourselves healthy in mind and body”, said Chairman Dr. Prathap C Reddy. International Yoga Day is a clear indication of the acceptance of Yoga across the globe. We hope this is will inspire you to add Yoga to your daily routine. Go ahead, get fit and flexible the Yogic way!
Milestones
Apollo Specialty Hospitals, Madurai successfully performed its first two liver transplants
With a deep sense of satisfaction and gratitude towards our patients and the people of Madurai, we proudly present our first two successful liver transplants done at Apollo Specialty Hospitals, Madurai.
The donors were identified within Trichy and Coimbatore respectively. Both the patients Mr. Sibnath Santara and Mr. Tulsidas Gautam were listed in the Tamil-Nadu cadaver transplant program with End Stage Liver Disease for a long time. Both transplants were completed smoothly and successfully and they were discharged from the hospital within 10 days of the surgery. Both are now ready to travel back to their native places to re-start normal lives.
Executive Vice Chairperson Ms. Preetha Reddy added that Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Madurai has now joined the handful of centers in the country, with the technical expertise and infrastructure to perform such complex procedures.
CEO, Southern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group Ms. Anne Marie Moncure appreciated all the consultants, technicians and all the administrative staff in their efforts in completing these complex surgeries. She expressed her wishes to the team to continue this kind of achievement in future.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr SathyaBhama, DMS for Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Southern region, said that “”Apollo Hospitals have maintained leadership in areas of organ transplantation and organ donation and the story has now enfolded in southern Tamil-Nadu””. Dr Rohini Sridhar, COO and DMS of Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Madurai Division, said, “the symphonically orchestrated team work of the doctors and administrators at Apollo Madurai made the seemingly tough undertaking, feel like a breeze”.
The patient Mr.Tulsidas, who was transplanted just 1 month ago, expressed his satisfaction for the fresh lease of life.
Dr Anand Ramamurthy, Sr Consultant Liver Transplant Surgeon, who is actually the ‘son of the soil’ said “two liver transplants were successfully performed at the Temple city of Madurai. Life saving procedures for patients with liver failure are now available outside major metros”.
Dr Anand K Khakhar, Program Director, Centre for Liver Disease and Transplantation Apollo Hospitals, said “We offer comprehensive care for patients with liver diseases. A lot of patients in need for liver transplantation are not adequately aware about the facilities and excellent outcomes now available to them within their reach.” Dr Anil Vaidya, Professor of Transplant Surgery at Oxford University and leading Pancreas transplant surgeon was impressed with the facilities available for complex transplant procedures in Apollo Madurai and mentioned that “facilities here are comparable to that at Chennai and Oxford as well, we can even offer pancreas transplantation to patients in Madurai”.
Technology
Apollo Children’s Hospitals Chennai successfully treats 12 year old H1N1 patient using ECMO
Ms. Soubashre, 12 years of age was admitted to Apollo Children’s Hospitals (ACH) with severe pneumonia and related issues. While ECMO has been used in other instances in India to cure adults with severe lung infection, this is the first time that a child has been cured of H1N1 using ECMO in India.
ECMO – a modified heart lung machine claimed by doctors as the ultimate life saving technology is slowly being incorporated in treatment of severe lung infections in children. While successful outcomes speak for the advantages of ECMO, many physicians prefer to opt out of ECMO, fearing complications and the high cost factor.
Although there are many centers in India that can treat adults using ECMO, only a handful can treat children using ECMO. Apollo Children’s Hospital is one of the very few exclusive organizations in Tamil Nadu that has the infrastructure and skill to treat children using ECMO technology and have successful outcomes too.
Dr Indira Jayakumar, Senior Consultant Emergency & Intensive Care, Apollo Children’s Hospitals said, “We are the only facility in Chennai offering ECMO treatment for children exclusively with successful outcomes. Not only do we have the system and technology in place, we are also supported by the best technicians, physicians and support staff that can ensure the best possible treatment. While Soubashre here was suffering from H1N1, people have to understand that ECMO can be used to treat other severe lung infections as well.”
“By taking over the work of the heart and lungs, the machine gives a child’s heart or lungs a chance to recover. ECMO supports the patient for days to weeks. Soubashre was hooked to the system for 19 days,” she added.
Early referrals make all the difference. The key is to initiate it early enough for a good outcome, before other organs begin to fail.
To initiate ECMO, catheters are placed in large blood vessels to provide access to the patient’s blood stream and anticoagulant drugs are given to prevent blood clotting. The ECMO machine continuously removes blood from the patient and performs gas exchange, like artificial lungs, before returning the blood to the patient. This technology requires a dedicated team of medical and paramedical experts with round the clock bedside care.
ECMO has proven useful in pneumonia due to infections – H1N1 and other viruses bacterial , scrub typhus , aspiration and also heart failure. It can also be used in any treatable cause of lung failure, buying time for healing, repair and recovery.
Ms. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals added, “Ever since Apollo’s inception, we have invested heavily in technology and resources which we feel will create an impact on patient’s lives and help in quicker recovery. Human life is priceless and we will ensure that we do everything in our capacity to treat patients who seek our help. State-of-the-art technology coupled with well-informed doctors, physicians and efficient support system is what has made this possible.’
Maquet, leading ECMO equipment manufacturer has come forward and announced that it will donate an ECMO equipment to ACH adding to the already existing system giving the hospital the ability to treat more than one child at a time.
Events
Apollo Research and Innovations (ARI) team hosted the ‘International Clinical trial day’ celebrati...
Apollo Research and Innovations (ARI) team hosted the ‘International Clinical trial day’ celebration at Apollo Health City, Hyderabad in collaboration with Navchetna(an awareness & Advocacy Initiative for Clinical Research by Indian Society for Clinical Research), Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS).
ARI is an Accredited Member Organizations (AMO) of Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR).
Over 85 participants including investigators, study coordinators, Ethics committees, students, patients and regulatory representative participated in the event from Hyderabad.
The event commenced with a welcome note by Dr. RavindraBabu, Medical Superintendent, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.
The clinical research team at ARI introduced the concept of International Clinical Trials Day and the Clinical research film by Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR). This film has been made with the sole purpose of informing doctors, patients, and their caregivers about why clinical trials need to be conducted, how they are conducted, and how patient’s interests are protected when they decide to voluntarily participate in clinical trials.
The film is available to view at various ARI centres for interested team members.
There were several investigators and patients who shared their stories and experiences of participating in the clinical trials.
Our ARI team is happy to share this initiative as a step toward bringing awareness about clinical research in India.
New Initiatives
This World Hypertension Day, Apollo Hospitals increases awareness on High blood pressure.
“India is on the brink of a cardiovascular disaster and needs urgent measures to control BP levels”, says Dr. C. Venkata S.Ram, Director, Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management; Vice-president, American Society of Hypertension & Director, South Asia Region – World Hypertension League (in partnership with WHO)
This is significant considering that only 50% of those with hypertension are aware of their condition. In certain communities the awareness is as dismally low as 10%. Of those who are diagnosed, less than half are treated and only a small percentage achieve normal BP levels. WHD will raise the awareness levels and make individuals conscious about hypertension and the necessary precautions.
Briefing media about World Hypertension Day and its importance in Indian context at a Press conference at Apollo Health City, Hyderabad, Dr. Venkata said, India is unfortunately being dubbed as the ‘Hypertension Capital’ of the world, due to Hypertension
Incidence being as high as 36% amongst adults in urban areas and 30% of the adults in the rural areas.
Being responsible for 1.1 million deaths annually, accounting for nearly 11% of all deaths in India
Afflicting ‘growing’ number of children and young
The Indian medical fraternity is gravely concerned about the impending threat of Blood Pressure overwhelming the Indian populace and we as a nation being on the brink of significant health related repercussions including cardiovascular disaster, stroke, peripheral artery disease, chronic kidney disease etc. This he says can be stemmed only through concerted measures to detect and treat hypertension effectively.
Hypertension also known as High blood pressure (high BP) is a major risk factor for heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke-paralysis and loss of memory, says Dr Ram. The normal BP level for all adults should be under 140/90 mm Hg day and night. If the patient also has diabetes, the BP level should be close to 130/80 mm Hg. According to him, once hypertension is documented, certain life style changes have to be made, including reduction of salt intake, alcohol consumption and weight, besides greater physical activity and use of individual anti-hypertensive drug or drug combinations as initial therapy.
According to Dr Ram, there are problems in effectively controlling High BP in India including non-compliance by patients in taking prescribed medicines regularly and stopping of taking medication once the BP level becomes normal under the notion that they are cured, he says.
The Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management, the only comprehensive centre in entire South Asia for the evaluation and treatment of high Blood Pressure with latest techniques, has advanced tools to accurately diagnose hypertension. The Institute has an automatic device to monitor and record Blood Pressure round the clock and provide entire BP profile. This is significant as BP level not receding during sleep can be ominous with risks of stroke, paralysis and heart attacks. The Institute and Blood Pressure Clinics at Apollo also have facility to check the blood pressure in the heart (central aortic blood pressure). It is the BP level in the heart which is the true indicator of the BP and not the measure of the BP in the arm. The Institute lays thrust on measuring the damage to heart, brain and kidneys from high BP and counselling on corrective treatment. The advanced protocols Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management, practices has contributed to it being designated as the South Asia office of the World Hypertension League (WHL)/ WHO, to co-ordinate BP control efforts in the region.
Best Hospital Near me Chennai
