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Amrita to improve patient care in Non-Government Hospitals (ANGHOS) of Nepal

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Kathmandu, Nepal – January 23, 2017 

Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, India, and Nepal’s Association of Non-Government Hospitals (ANGHOS), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for improving patient care and healthcare delivery system at ANGHOS member institutes. Under the agreement, Amrita hospital will be setting up state-of-the-art telemedicine service for specialty and sub-specialty consultation across all seven ANGHOS-affiliated healthcare institutions in Nepal.

ANGHOS is an umbrella organization for NGO-run hospitals, strongly involved in protecting basic health rights of the Nepalese population and being a part of the social development process

Through this MoU a wide-ranging collaboration in skill enhancement of healthcare professionals through medical education and training programs will be initiated. Efficient use of Information Technology will be encouraged by the introduction of Health Management Information System (HMIS) to NGO hospitals in Nepal. There will also be e-learning programs in Continuing Medical Education (CME) and paper presentations as well as exchange programs for medical students, doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Signing the agreement with Dr. Bharat Pradhan, Chairperson of ANGHOS, Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director of Amrita hospital said “The expertise of our medical specialists in India will instantly become available to them through telemedicine. We have already begun the treatment of two referrals from ANGHOS hospitals at our institution in Kochi. Furthermore, six nurses from the member institutions have completed their training in advanced infection-control practices. Training programs in advanced surgery will be initiated soon. With telemedicine, our engagement with patients will further deepen.”
Another important part of MoU is the exchange of medical students, doctors, nurses, scientists and other healthcare professionals between the two countries.
Dr. Prem Nair added: “We intend to focus on specialized short-term, hands-on training for doctors and other healthcare professionals from Nepal. The training areas would involve specialties like head and neck, upper airway cancers, thyroid, heart diseases and arthoscopy surgery, as well as radiology and pathology. We are starting training programs for doctors from Nepal in laparoscopy and advanced surgical skills. Additionally, we will be developing an E-learning package for Nepal to enhance the training of medical students in the country.”
The joint research projects between Indian and Nepalese healthcare professionals will revolve around neglected tropical diseases and dengue, chikungunya, malaria and filaria. Community-based health activities will be another focus area.

Amrita hospital launches first cosmetic heart surgery for kids in India

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For the first time in India, Amrita Hospital in Kochi, Kerala has introduced cosmetic heart surgery for children – a procedure that has gained popularity in Europe in the last decade. Cosmetic heart surgery means cardiac surgery with an alternative approach through minimally invasive procedure. “The advantage of this advanced surgical procedure is that, the incision is not visible either from the front or from back, no major chest muscles are cut and hence the child has no long-term functional problems. No bones are cut and hence recovery is fast. The incision is kept to less than 5 cms and hence cosmetically appealing and finally even if the child undresses fully, the scar is not visible in normal posture,” said Dr. Brijesh Kottayil.

“This approach will reduce the lifelong psychological trauma from a visible surgical scar. The hospital would incorporate robotic assistance in cosmetic heart surgery for children shortly” said Dr. Brijesh.

Already six children have successfully undergone this procedure so far at Amrita Hospital, Kochi.

India’s first double forearm transplant at Amrita Hospital

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28 July 2016, Kochi

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Hand transplanted recipent Jith Kumar Saji

Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) has conducted India’s first double forearm transplant on a 21-year-old youth, Jith Kumar Saji, who lost both his hands below the elbow in 2013 due to electrical burns. This is the third double-hand transplant done at the hospital. In India, currently only Amrita Hospital is available with the capability to conduct such hand transplants.

Jith, the son of a mason hailing from a small village in Kannur, used to work as a light-and-sound assistant with a local event management group. While at work in August 2013, he fell on live high-tension electric wires when the tent under which he was working suddenly collapsed. He sustained severe burns to both him arms. He was rushed to the hospital unconscious, but his hands could not be saved and had to be amputated below the elbow.

For Jith’s double-forearm transplant, Dr. Subramania Iyer, HOD, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital, led a team of 25 surgeons and a 12-member anaesthetic team in a marathon surgery that lasted 14 hours. Dr. Iyer explained: “This surgery was technically much more complicated than the previous two hand transplants done by us at Amrita Hospital. In hand transplants done above the wrist, the tendons are still connected to each other. But in a forearm transplant, these connections have to be made to the muscle mass. Identification, tagging and connecting the nerves, tendons and arteries is very challenging. That is why forearm transplants have been attempted only a few times in the world.”

The donor was a 24-year-old youth Raison Sunny who was declared brain dead after a road accident.

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The 3 transplant recipients: Manu, Abdul Rahim and Jith

Amrita Hospital created medical history in January 2015 by carrying out India’s first hand transplant of a 30-year-old patient, Manu TR. This feat was quickly followed by another hand transplant surgery in April 2015 of an Afghan soldier, Abdul Rahim. These, along with that of Jith Kumar Saji, are now the only three hand transplants ever been done in India.

Jith spent three weeks in the transplant ICU after the surgery and is now fit to be discharged. He has been undergoing physiotherapy and can use both his elbows. He is even able to eat with the support of special splints. Jith would need to undergo intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation exercises for at least two years for his hand functions to return fully. In addition, he will have to take lifelong immunosuppressant medications to prevent the rejection of the transplanted hands.

India’s first double hand transplant patients to embrace productive social life

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It’s been more than a year since India’s first double hand transplant surgery done at Amrita Hospital ! 
A momentous meeting was held for felicitating the victims of the transplant as they are leaving the hospital.

Manu and Abdul Rahim had showcased excellent results and continue to do so. The non-surgical treatment took around one year which helped them to regain their normal life, Moreover the Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation team laid an immense support and care to overcome their struggles.

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As both of them are back into their productive social life, Manu has been absorbed as a Transplant Assistant at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Abdul Rahim will join back to Afghan army next week. A doctor came down from Kabul and had a discussion with the team for a week and is very much enthusiastic to take care of Abdul at his workplace.

Swami Poornamritananda Puri graced the occasion and handed over the appointment order to Manu and blessing plaque to Abdul Rahim.

Amrita Hospital will feature super-specialties and centres of excellence and low-cost solutions to health care

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9 May 2016 — Faridabad, Haryana

A new two thousand bed Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre (Amrita Hospital) in Greater Faridabad (Delhi NCR) is coming up and the construction work has begun today after the stone laying ceremony. {news}

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Model of Amrita Hospital, Faridabad

Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director of the current Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre in Kochi, enumerated the state-of-the-art facilities planned for the new hospital planned for Faridabad. “The new hospital at Faridabad will feature the complete range of specialties, super-specialties and Centres of Excellence,” he said. “These will include a heart institute, an institute for high-precision cancer diagnosis and therapy, organ transplantation, an advanced centre for neurosciences and epilepsy, an institute for diabetes and metabolism, a centre for liver and biliary diseases, an institute for minimally invasive and robotic surgery, a burn unit, a centre for bone and joint diseases, an advanced centre for lung diseases and transplantation, an institute for physical medicine and rehabilitation, a centre for spinal disorders, an advanced laboratory for molecular diagnostics, an advanced centre for medical imaging, and interventional radiology, among others. It is our goal to have most, if not all, of these facilities provided and rapidly scaled with the new hospital’s launch.”

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Model of Amrita Hospital

Amrita Hospital, Delhi NCR, will also have a strong focus on mother-and-child healthcare, he said. It will include a highly specialised multidisciplinary Children’s Hospital with maternal and foetal medicine and all paediatric subspecialties, including paediatric cardiology, heart surgery and transplantation, rheumatology, endocrinology, pulmonology, neurosciences, paediatric genetics, gastroenterology, paediatric orthopaedics and paediatric and foetal surgery.

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Dr. Prem Nair

Added Dr. Prem Nair: “It’s important to have a place where complete medical assistance and treatment for mother and child, including advanced paediatric medicine, can be attained under one roof. This is something lacking in many localities throughout India, as many private hospitals do not see mother-child care as monetarily sustainable.”

Dr. Nair pointed out that since the inception of the Amrita Hospital, Kochi, in 1998, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM) has provided totally free medical care to more than 41 lakh [4.1 million] patients, and, during that time, MAM has provided more than Rs. 536.33 crores [$85 million U.S.] in charitable medical care. He said that the new Amrita Hospital would continue the Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s tradition of providing a strong presence of charitable and subsidized care.

Sri. Satyananda Mishra, the Executive Director said that the new hospital would also dedicate an entire block to conducting original research, particularly with a focus on finding low-cost solutions to healthcare problems to make medical care more affordable to the common man.

Amrita Hospital, Kochi, is part of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s No. 1-ranked private university, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), and Dr. Nair said the Delhi NCR hospital would become a teaching hospital under the same university system.

 

Foundation stone laid for 2,000-bed Amrita Hospital in Delhi NCR

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9 May 2016 — Faridabad, Haryana

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal today laid the foundation stone for the Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s new two thousand bed Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre (Amrita Hospital) in Greater Faridabad. The ceremony took place in the presence of Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Vice Chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math. The Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Krishnan Pal Gurjar, and a host of other dignitaries also graced the occasion.

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May this institution be both a hospital and a temple:
Swami Amritaswarupananda welcomed the dignitaries and read a statement from Amma, which said: “Compassion is both the beginning and the culmination of spiritual life. May this new hospital become an abode of service to humankind and a place of solace for the sick. May all those involved in the building up of this institution have a loving and compassionate approach to everything they do, in all their dealings. May this institution be both a hospital and a temple, where external and internal healing is being provided.”

 

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Amma a “Shining Example of a Saint Working for the Poor”

Haryana Chief Minister praised Amma and her charitable works, saying, “India has a long tradition of saints working for social reforms and helping the poor. Mata Amritanandamayi is a shining example of this. She is an embodiment of love and compassion who has tirelessly worked for the welfare of entire humanity. She considers service to the poor as the greatest form of worship. Her Math is doing yeoman service around the world in the areas of education and health. I congratulate the citizens of Faridabad and all of Haryana for her decision to construct a 2,000-bed super-specialty hospital and medical college in Faridabad. It will benefit not only this industrial city, but also surrounding regions like Delhi, Palwal, Mewat and several districts of UP.”

Sri. Krishnan Pal Gurjar unveiled a scale model of the Amrita Hospital at the ceremony.

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Model of Amrita Hospital, Faridabad

“With a planned facility of 2,000 beds, the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre is set to become the largest hospital in Delhi-NCR,” said Sri. Satyananda Misra, the former Chief Information Commissioner of India, who will serve as the new hospital’s Executive Director.

The hospital is being constructed to be GRIHA- and LEED-certified: a green building, with no carbon footprint, zero wastewater discharge, and to be powered eventually by more than 45% solar power. Construction materials used in the project will also be environmentally friendly. More than 70% of the campus acreage is planned as a green area filled with local varieties of trees, plants and shrubs and water bodies. The state-of-the-art healthcare facility spread across nearly 100 acres in Sector 88, Greater Faridabad.

 

 

Amrita Hospital initiates India’s first windpipe transplant

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The Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences has successfully completed the first stage of a windpipe transplant on a cancer patient.

The complex surgery is done in two phases. In the first phase, the windpipe harvested from the donor is embedded in the recipient’s forearm after stripping it of all cells. After two months, the recipient’s damaged windpipe is transplanted with the one which has been reseeded with his own. If all goes well in the second phase, this would be the first such surgery in India and the second worldwide.

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The procedure was done by plastic and reconstructive surgery department head Dr Subramania Iyer and team on a patient suffering from adenoid cystic carcinoma, a cancer affecting windpipe. The Kochi native woman of 45 was under treatment in the hospital. The windpipe was of Renjith, a 37 year old film director who was pronounced brain dead after internal bleeding. Renjith’s relatives also agreed to donate his liver, kidneys and corneas.

One of his kidneys and liver were transplanted on a patient under treatment in Amrita hospital.

Amrita transplant team won British Medical Journal award

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2nd Nov 2015, Kochi

The Amrita Hospital hand transplant team won the prestigious British Medical Journal award 2015 for the category of best surgical team of South Asia. These awards have been instituted to honour the contributions of various teams in this region in different aspects of medical care delivery. The BMJ awards has been considered as the “Oscars” in health delivery management.

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Dr Subramania Iyer received the award on behalf of the entire team.

The awards are given after rigorous evaluation done in three stages by a reputed national and international jury team. There were more than 1000 entries for the various awards this year.

The Amrita team won the award for the effort put in to successfully conduct the first and second double hand transplants in South Asia. The meticulous planning and the immense dedication of the entire team to achieve this demonstrating the capability of an Indian centre to match the international standards was appreciated.

It is the second time in consecutive years Amrita Institute is bagging these awards. The Amrita paediatric cardiology team won the award last year for their leadership activities in this field.

 

100 Crore commitment to sanitation in Kerala

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27 Sep 2015, Amritapuri – Amritavarsham 62 celebrations

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Amma added to her Rs. 100-crore donation to the Namami Gange campaign by making a pledge that MAM will dedicate a value of Rs. 100-crore in toilet construction and other sanitation efforts. A plaque commemorating the pledge was given by Amma to Sri. Ooomen Chandy, Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala during Amritavarsham celebrations.

Oommen Chandy, thanked Amma for her Rs. 100-crore commitment to building toilets and other sanitation projects in Kerala, saying, “Amma has removed the pain of thousands of people. She has contributed Rs. 100 crore to the poorest people—those who cannot even afford a toilet. She is one of the greatest people to ever serve Kerala society.”

 

Amrita Center of Excellence in Organ Transplantation dedicated to the Nation

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8 Sep 2015, Kochi
Center of Excellence in Organ Transplantation at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences was dedicated to the Nation by Central Minister for Science and technology Dr Harsha Vardhan today at Kochi. The Amrita Centre of Excellence in Organ Transplantation, over the last 15 years has carried out about 900 cases of transplantations {news}.

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Amrita Institute Organ transplant doctors team with Actor Padmashree Mohan Lal and Central Minster Harshavardhan and Kerala Health Minister Sivakumar

Harsha Vardhan said that the meeting exemplified the contribution of everyone in the society to make organ donation drive a success. He wished that one day India would be as efficient as countries like Spain in providing deceased organ donation program. He complimented the hand transplant team of Amrita for bringing laurel to the country.

The entire hand transplant team led by Dr Subrahmania Iyer of Amrita was felicitated. The organ donor families of Binoy and Joseph, who were the first hand donors of the country was also felicitated.

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Malayalam cine actor Mohanlal, the ‪‎Goodwill‬ ‪‎Ambassador‬ for Organ Donation felicitated the families of donors of the first two twin hand transplants in the country for their exemplary action. He said that he was always a part of Amrita family and was very happy to be associated with the organ donation movement.

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Health Minister of Kerala Sivakumar expressed his gratitude to Amrita for pioneering organ transplantations in the state. He hoped that the air ambulance will materialize very soon to facilitate transport of organs.

Swami Poornamritananda Puri in his benedictory address said that human body is a gift of God and should be utilized to serve others even after death.