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Amrita Hospital does laser surgery to unborn baby to save kidneys

27 July 2018, Kochi
The doctors at Amrita hospital have inserted a laser fibre into a 22-week-old foetus that had an obstruction in its urine flow due to which its kidneys were getting damaged. The laser fibre was inserted through the mother’s abdomen into the urine bladder of the foetus and the obstruction was removed. The unborn baby is now doing well.

 

A 28-year-old woman from Thrissur, currently residing in Dubai, who was 21 weeks into her pregnancy, had come for a routine check-up at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, during which the doctors found that a valve in the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the exterior of the body) of the unborn baby was obstructing the urine flow and causing damage to the kidneys. An analysis of the foetal urine showed that the kidneys still had a chance to recover.

“The condition may have turned fatal if left untreated. It was then decided to conduct surgery on the unborn baby in the womb rather than wait for the birth. In a surgery that lasted an hour, a laser fibre was inserted through the mother’s abdomen and uterus into the urinary bladder of the foetus, and the obstructing valve was removed using a laser. This has allowed the foetus to produce urine normally and the kidneys to recover. It will also improve the development of the lungs,” said Dr Mohan Abraham, head of the department, paediatric surgery, Amrita Hospital, who led the team of surgeons.

“This is a big step in the care of the unborn baby, making it very affordable at a fraction of the cost compared to regular renal treatment. Currently, the global destinations for foetal surgery include countries like USA, Brazil, Spain and the UK. With this feat, India too has arrived on the global stage in foetal surgery,” said Dr Vivek Krishnan, professor, foetal medicine, Amrita Hospital.    

 

Amrita is setting up a homograft bank

2 Aug  2018, Kochi
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences is in the process of setting up a homograft bank that will be second such bank to preserve aorta and pulmonary artery from the deceased donors in the state. This will benefit children, who have an infection of the valves. In absence of aorta and pulmonary artery, they must rely on bovine or artificial ones, which is expensive. They also increase the risk of infection. While bovine aorta and pulmonary artery costs around Rs 1 lakh, an artificial one costs around Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. In the homograft transplant, the cost is reduced to around Rs 10,000.


“We have the necessary instruments and obtained licence to retain the aorta and pulmonary artery from accident and suicide victims. This will be done with the deceased’s relatives consent and in coordination with the police surgeon,” said Amrita medical superintendent Dr Sanjeev Singh.

“There is no substitute to the human aorta and pulmonary artery and homograft implants will drastically reduce infection risk. However, in homograft transplants also we need to replace the organs as the child grows. In their lifetime, they would need three transplants,” said Dr Praveen Varma, head, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery of Amrita Institute. 

-Dass

Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences signs MoU with Harvard Med School

April 2018, Kochi

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi to collaborate on research and education initiatives in critical care, pain medicine, and anesthesiology.

The memorandum identifies joint research and an exchange of faculty and students as areas for cooperation between the two institutions. Beth Israel is one of Harvard Medical School’s main teaching hospitals. The Harvard Medical School was ranked as the best medical school in the world in 2017 by Times Higher Education.

“We are very excited about the potential of exchanging best practices and faculty as well as conducting collaborative research with Harvard Medical School. This high-profile collaboration will benefit medical education and research in India, and bring immense benefits in clinical care, basic science, public health, and multidisciplinary research,” AIMS medical director Dr Prem Nair said while signing the MoU. The first project for joint research between Amrita and Harvard will focus on sepsis.

Doctors from Beth Israel Deaconess visited Amrita last week before signing the memorandum. The team comprised Daniel S. Talmor, head of the department of anaesthesia and critical care at Beth Israel, Peter J. Panzica, assistant professor of anesthesia, and Satya K. Ramachandran, associate professor of anaesthesia.

Ramachandran said the memorandum of understanding will provide a valuable source of data for future research projects. He pointed to the hospital’s digital database in particular.

The Harvard team proposed to start a certificate course for postgraduate students of Amrita School of Medicine in ICU management, quality assurance and acute medicine. It also offered to throw open Harvard facilities to Amrita Hospital for simulation training in bronchoscopy, ultrasound, and pain management.

“They are one of the hospitals in India which had an electronic health record for the longest time. That was another opportunity for us,” Ramachandran said. “One of our strengths is in outcomes-database driven research.”

He also mentioned the hospital’s large intensive care unit as a potential resource for research efforts.

The memorandum could mean that Beth Israel will provide continuing medical education courses to doctors at Amrita. Beth Israel residents may be able to spend about a month observing patient care at Amrita as well.

“We’ve run workshops and training programs for training and teaching ultrasound technology for physicians at the point of care, different kinds of ultrasound technology, different kinds of bronchoscopy techniques,” Ramachandran said.

 

 

International Yoga day celebrations at Amrita Institutions

21 June 2018

International Yoga Day was celebrated across the Amrita Institutions and different Ashram centers across the country. 

Amma initiated Yoga practices during her program in Santa Fe {news}. Speaking on the occasion Amma gave a message saying that “Yoga is the means of awakening the infinite strength within, by training the body, mind and intellect properly, and of realizing one’s full potential. Yoga helps us become more efficient in worldly life. It enhances our health, sense of well-being, and sensitivity to values. ” {read full message} 

 

See the photos here. 

 

 

 

 

Football-sized tumour from the jaw was removed at Amrita Hospital

The surgeons at Amrita Hospital removed a football-sized tumour from the jaw of Amar Samad, a 19-year-old tribal boy from Jharkhand, India. The surgery, which was done at no charge, took 14 hours. It involved the reconstruction of Amar’s jaw using his leg bone. It was the largest jaw tumour of its kind ever reported.

After the surgery, Amar Samad said: “Because of this huge deformity on my face, I could never mingle with other children of my age, as they used to be repulsed by my appearance. It is a huge relief to get the tumour off my face — it is almost like a second birth. I am now eager to go back home, make friends again and work in the fields. I thank the doctors of Amrita Hospital from the bottom of my heart for enabling me to lead a normal life.”

The football-size mass of matter (weighing 4.7 kg) started growing on Amar’s upper jaw in 2008. The dense collection of bone and fibrous tissue was diagnosed as “ossifying fibroma.” This led not only to a grotesque appearance but also difficulty in swallowing and speaking.

“Amar’s medical condition belonged to a very rare disease group called Hyper-parathyroidism Jaw Tumor Syndrome that arises due to a genetic abnormality and causes small-size tumours on the jaw,” said Dr Subramania Iyer, Head, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital. “His case is unique as a tumour of this size associated with this disease has not yet been reported in medical literature. In fact, this is the largest ever reported upper jaw tumour of its kind. If the condition had persisted, Amar would have found it impossible to eat, and breathing would have become a struggle. The calcium levels in his body had risen very high due to the disease.”

Dr Iyer continued, “We used 3D printing to construct an accurate model of Amar’s face and tumour, and conducted mock surgery for practice. Micro-surgical transfer of his leg bone was carried out to construct a new upper jaw. We had initially planned to remove his left eye but managed to save it through meticulous surgery. His nose was reconstructed with bone, with plastic tubes acting as airways.”


After the surgical procedures, Amar’s parathyroid hormone and calcium levels have returned to normal. He now needs dental implants placed in his reconstructed upper jaw. The position of his left eye has to be readjusted to make it more acceptable cosmetically, though it has limited vision left. Both the eye and dental procedures will be conducted after six months.

Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda Laboratory

Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ACARA) Laboratory at Amrita School of Ayurveda of Amrita Vishwa Vidhya Peetham, has been set up with the blessings of Amma. Inspired by Amma’s vision to foster the global acceptance of Ayurveda through world-class multidisciplinary research, the lab is constructed.

Ayurveda Research lab and studies will help
1. Understand the mechanism of action of Ayurvedic medicines.
2. To assess the efficacy of Ayurvedic medicines administered in humans
3. Interactions between Ayurvedic medicines and allopathic medicines can be checked.
4. The presence of heavy metals in Ayurvedic medicines and also to check their quality and consistency.

In the first phase of its operations, the ACARA Laboratory has acquired over 30 instruments to set up facilities for Chromatography (HPTLC), Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS and LC MS/MS), Microbiology, Cell Culture, Gel Documentation, Genetic Studies, Fluorescent Microscopy and other Analytical Techniques to test quality of Ayurvedic medicines.

This lab will cater to the needs of Ayurveda PG and PhD Scholars for the pursuit of their research projects, Scientists and researchers interested in multidisciplinary research in Ayurveda, Clinical researchers in the field of Ayurveda as well as the Ayurveda Pharma Industry.

The new lab was inaugurated at Amrita Shcool of Ayurveda in Amritapuri on 15 December 2017. 

 

Amrita Hospital researchers find way to ‘burn’ liver cancer

Researchers at Amrita Hospital have turned a substance commonly found in bones into a potent weapon that can seek and kill tumour cells.

Tiny particles of calcium phosphate, a biomineral that is a natural constituent of the bone, when doped with similarly small iron particles, can become what medical scientists call a theranostic agent, a substance that serves both diagnostic and therapeutic functions, the Amrita Hospital scientists found.

The team led by Shantikumar Nair and Manzoor Koyakutty of the Centre for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine at AMRITA demonstrated that these iron-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles, at least 10-fold smaller than the smallest dust particle, can be guided to the liver where tumour-afflicted tissues can be scarred using radio waves.

“We have been working on calcium phosphate nanoparticles that can be used for tissue engineering applications, for a while. But our interest was in finding whether this material could be used for imaging (diagnostic) applications,” said Koyakutty.

So they synthetically prepared these nanocrystals and doped them with impurities that have magnetic properties so that they can be used for MRI scans or similarly with X-ray-absorbing particles to make them suitable for X-ray imaging.

One such nanocomposite they prepared was iron-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles, which they found could be a good imaging substance. While working with this nanocomposite, the AMRITA researchers quite accidentally discovered that they have an ability to heat up when exposed to certain types of radio waves.

“It is then that we decided to explore whether this material could be used to burn tumour tissues,” said Koyakutty, the lead author of a recent paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

This technique of using radio waves for killing cancer cells is called radiofrequency (RF) ablation, and scientists elsewhere have been developing it as a plausible treatment for cancers of different organs such as lungs, liver and oesophagus.

Biodegradable
“Most of the materials currently being explored as heat-generating materials for RF ablation — such as gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes or graphene — suffer from an inherent problem: they are non-biodegradable. Calcium phosphate, on the other side, being part and parcel of the bone mineral, is easily biodegradable.”

The current challenge with RF ablation is that as the thermal conductance of tissues is low, heat will not spread well enough to a large area in order to kill all cancer cells. It is useful if the cancer area is restricted to an area of 3-5 cm.

Koyakutty admitted that this may remain a challenge. But they are hoping they can evenly spread these nanoparticles through the cancer cells if they can be tagged with certain tumour-specific molecules which bind to the malignant cells.

As the next step, the scientists plan to try this out on rabbits where they hope to target tumour tissues of 3 cm diameter.

$95 million worth free medical care to 4.33 million patients at Amrita Hospital

8 October 2017, Amritapuri – Amritavarsham64 

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, present certificates for totally free surgeries at Amrita Hospital to five onstage beneficiaries. These five individuals were representative of 1,940 economically challenged people receiving such certificates — including 200 recipients of heart surgeries, 70 of neuro surgeries, 20 of kidney transplants, 50 of head-and-neck surgeries, 50 of major gastrointestinal surgeries, 50 of urological and nephrological surgeries, 500 of dialysis treatments and 1,000 of cancer treatments.

Since the inception of the Amrita Hospital in Kochi and the allied medical institutions of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math have provided totally free medical care to more than 4.33 million patients. During that time, we have provided more than $95 million in charitable care has been provided.

-Dass

Segula Meso – open your eyes

Zambia, Africa

Embracing the World, Zambia, in collaboration with Vision Without Borders, organized Cataract Surgeries for 216 patients at Petauke, an Eastern Province in the country, in the last week of August 2017. The operations and the hospital care were given totally free to the patients. The volunteers also ensured that the patients were picked up from very remote interior areas and dropped back after their surgeries.

The operations were done at the Minga Hospital in Petauke. Patients were selected by three ophthalmic nurses who traveled more than 100km east and west of the hospital to screen patients with cataracts.

A team of doctors and nurses under Dr. Isabel Signes, an active volunteer of Embracing the World, travelled all the way from Spain to help with the surgeries.   

Apart from the 216 cataract operations, two capsulotomies and several pterygiums were also performed. Around 180 pairs of glasses were provided as well. Many of the patients were thrilled to get back their vision and filled with gratitude for Amma.

The volunteers from Zambia, inspired by Amma, put in a lot of efforts to organize the eye surgeries and were blessed by the beneficiaries with all their heart.

Upper double arm transplant at Amrita Hospital for a female recipient from a male donor

Shreya Siddanagowda was only 19 years old when she tragically lost both of her arms in a bus accident last year. Today she received the upper double-arm transplant at Amrita Hospital. Shreya has two arms again, and her doctors expect her to regain 85% of her hands’ functioning within 18 months. The procedure that gave Shreya a new lease on life was the first upper double-arm transplant in all of Asia, and only the 9th ever to be performed successfully in the world.

Incidentally, this is the first time in the world a male donor’s hand has been transplanted on a female recipient. “It was Shreya who removed our doubts on the matter. She was ready to receive the arm from a male donor,” Dr Mohit said.

The surgery, which lasted 13 hours, took a team of 20 surgeons and 16 aestheticians. Dr. Subramania Iyer, head of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Amrita said, “Upper-arm transplants are much more challenging due to the complexity involved in accurately identifying and connecting various nerves, muscles, tendons and arteries. Rehabilitation is also much more difficult because the patient bears the weight of the transplanted hands at the upper arm.”

The organ donor was Sachin, 20 year old, studying in Ernakulam who died in a motorcycle accident. Shreya’s body has accepted the transplanted arms, and she is showing good signs of recovery. She has been discharged from the hospital and put on an intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation program.

“When I heard there is hand transplant facility in India, I finally felt my disability is only temporary. It helped a lot. Hopefully, in the next couple of years, I will lead a near normal life” said Shreya, a 19-year-old chemical-engineering student from Pune. “I want to continue my studies and fulfill all my dreams that I had before the accident. I thank the donor Sachin’s family and doctors at Amrita Hospital for giving my life back.”