Dr Rakesh Rai a specialist in Liver, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Mulund

Fortis Hospitals successfully performs Year 2013 First Cadaver Liver Transplant Surgery in the city of Mumbai

 

Mumbai 14th January 2013:  Fortis Hospital Mulund performs city's first successful liver transplantation of the year 2013. The life saving surgery was performed by liver transplant team of Fortis Hospital, Mulund led by senior consultant Transplant Surgeon Dr. Rakesh Rai. Mr. Nivrutti Shinde, 62-year old man who was suffering from advanced liver cirrhosis once again is brought back to life by a cadaver liver transplant from a very young brain dead patient. 

Patient Mr. Nivrutti Shinde got surprise of his life and the best New Year gift when he got a call on 6th of January that a suitable liver is available for him for liver transplantation. Mr. Shinde who is a 68 year old retired principal was diagnosed to have cirrhosis few months ago. When he was investigated for swollen limb. Further investigation revealed that his liver had shrunken and he has developed portal hypertension.  He was listed for cadaver liver transplantation in Fortis Hospital, Mulund only 10 days back on 27th December of 2012. 

On 6th Of January a patient in Fortis hospital ICU was declared brain death following a severe head injury in a Road traffic accident. The grieving family made a courageous decision to donate the organs to save others life.

The donor underwent a 4hr procedure to harvest his kidneys and liver starting in the evening of 6th Janauary’13. The donor was taken in to the operation theatre for harvesting (surgical removal of cadaver organs) of liver and kidneys. The donor's liver along with its vascular pedicles and bile duct, cooled and flushed with special cold preserving solution. The liver was packed in a plastic bag containing preserving solution and kept in a large Ice box to maintain a low temperature. At the same time in another operating room Mr. Shinde was wheeled in. The team of transplant anesthetist led by Dr. Vijay Shetty put him to sleep and then then put several catheters to continuously monitor several vital parameters during surgery.

 Dr Rakesh Rai a specialist in Liver, Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Mulund Says “Surgery consisted of taking out the cirrhotic liver from the patient which is a very complex and challenging procedure as because of cirrhosis the blood does not clot easily as well as the blood vessels in the abdomen get abnormally dilated. The meticulous dissection as well as continuous monitoring and correction of bleeding tendency led to removal of cirrhotic liver without significant blood loss. Next stage was to implant the harvested liver in the place from where cirrhotic liver was removed. We then first joined the part of Inferior vena cava above the liver of donor and recipient then the cava below the liver was joined. Next both portal veins were joined and then the blood flow to the new liver was established. The new liver immediately started working and producing bile. Next part was to join the artery and bile duct. This whole complex procedure was finished in just 6 hours”.

“Following liver transplantation Mr. Shinde was shifted to liver transplant ICU and he was taken off the ventilator within 12 hrs of his surgery. Mr. Shinde made a remarkable recovery and was out of ICU in the ward within two days of transplantation and he is now ready to be discharged within 7 days of his surgery” Said Dr Rai.

 Ms Rajana Shinde wife of Patient Says “It came us like a surprise to us when we saw first bleeding from Husband. He undergone hernia surgery, but Dr never told us about the cirrhosis. We would have started taking treatment. One doctor said it is a kidney problem & we started taking treatment for kidney. Later his condition was deteriorating &his biopsy report confirmed the liver cirrhosis and need urgent liver transplant”

“We decided to undergo liver transplant surgery but we were told that doctors’ in Mumbai are less efficient for doing transplant surgery, in-fact he was suggesting Delhi as a preferred option for liver transplant” Says Ms. Shinde. Talking on the decision for transplant in Delhi, she said doctor suggested for live donor for Transplant Surgery. We had undergone pain by doing several different processes from Mumbai then in Delhi for liver transplant surgery done at outstation for live donor. Mr. Shinde got admitted for Transplant Surgery in Delhi Hospital as his 28 yr old nephew was ready as a live donor. But unfortunately it didn’t work, as donor said he was having fatty liver.

To get fitted for transplant surgery my nephew lost his weight almost 4- 5 kg, but later Dr’s didn’t showed positive response. We were confused as we were not able to get our query solved inspite of following what Dr has suggested. And we decided to come back in Mumbai Said Ms. Shinde.

“Mr. Shinde was listed for Cadaver at Fortis Hospital, Mulund only 10 days back. Luckily Mr. Shinde did not have to wait long. In New Year 2013, relatives of a 33 yr old young brain dead patient (who was admitted in Fortis Hospitals ICU) when counseled by the hospital social workers team, agreed to donate liver for transplantation” Said Social Worker Neelam Choudankar.

“Post Cadaver liver Transplant Surgery Mr. Shinde is out of ICU only on 3^rd days and will be discharged on Monday” Said Dr Rakesh Rai.

Dr S Narayani, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital Mulund Said “Recent political involvement in organ donation all across the city has created awareness on organ donation. We as a healthcare partner ensure that more and more people should be aware of organ donation and how it can helps one life. Organ donation and sharing among the patients is a very challenging. There has to be development in the infrastructure to support organ donation across the country and finally there has to be a national network for listing patients on the waiting list and sharing of the organ”.

A smiling, visibly elated Mr. Shinde said, "I want to spread the message that just as one donates eyes and kidneys, one must also donate a liver to give new life to someone else. I consider my donor as an angel, since I got a new lease of life thanks to the liver transplant. I'm grateful to Dr Rakesh Rai and his entire medical team at Fortis Hospitals who helped me with New Year gift. And in all this, I'd specially like to thank my wife Ranjana Shinde & Son Sachin, Sudhir & nephew who supported me all the way. She proves the proverb that behind every man there is a strong woman."

 

 

Record For Achieving The Largest Number Of Cervical Cancer Screenings

Fortis Sets A Guinness World Records For Achieving The Largest Number Of Cervical Cancer Screenings

Fortis Sets A Guinness World Records

 ~ Record For Achieving The Largest Number Of Cervical Cancer Screenings ~ 

Mumbai 23^rd December 2012: Fortis Foundation set a Guinness World Record, record for the highest number of cervical cancer screenings today benchmarking their positing within the industry as pioneers. Fortis Hospital at Vashi, Mumbai, screened over 751 women in an 8 hour marathon screening, as part of its ‘Teal To Heal Together’ campaign beating the earlier record of 350 participants held by Kaiser Permanente, San Diego (USA) achieved on the 29^th of January 2011. The hospital left no stone unturned with more than 50 gynaecologists and oncologists working seamlessly and screening participants in more than 20 OPD rooms.

Speaking of the newly won Guinness World Records achieved by Fortis Foundation, Mr. Varun Khanna, Regional Director (East & West) ,Fortis Healthcare said, “Although cervical cancer ranks as the number one killer disease in India, it is breast cancer that has received utmost attention. Through the ‘Teal To Heal Together’ campaign, Fortis is aiming to revolutionise the manner in which cervical cancer is perceived and prevented nationwide. The golden rule of prevention being better than cure is the guiding principle that has driven this campaign.”   

Dr. Vandana Gawdi, Senior Consultant, Gynaecologist, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi a proponent of cervical cancer said, “Cervical cancer is both preventable and curable if detected at the HPV virus stage, Oncogenic HPV infection in Indian women varies in different locations. Studies have brought out certain demographic and other lifestyle factors on the development of abnormal cytology in Indian women.  This justifies the need for screening women for cervical cancer including Oncogenic HPV testing (HPV infection among various Indian women).”

Dr. Shalini Varma, Consultant Gynaecologist at Fortis Hospital Vashi, Says” Cervical cancer in India accounts for one fifth of the cervical cancer prevalent globally. On a yearly basis over 1,30,000 new cases are detected and it is estimated the number of new cervical cancer cases in India will increase to nearly 2,26,000 by 2025. Due to the lack of awareness and social stigmata, the mortality rate among patients suffering from cervical cancer has risen from 74,118 reported deaths in 2002 to 2,70,000 reported deaths at present. Over 10% of all cancer deaths annually are accounted to cervical cancer.” 

 

“These mortality numbers can be partly attributed to the lack of awareness of the prevention techniques and the need for early detection through periodic health check-ups. Although cervical cancer is known to have a higher mortality rate than breast cancer, it is not yet perceived to be a social killer. It is widely believed, and a fallacy that the disease is transmitted only through consummation.  The social perception attached to the disease therefore is a common deterrent for many women to come forward for a preventive examination. However awareness amongst healthcare providers and women for the need of pap screening and preventive services is a must and should go towards alleviating the problem.” Says Dr Varma.

 

Improving the nutrition of the girl child, avoiding early marriage, a monogamist lifestyle, engaging in personal hygiene (to prevent HPV infections) and routine checks can prevent the occurrence of the disease to a great extent. For a developing country like India, as per the WHO norm, all women should get at-least one pap smear test undertaken before the age of 40 years and preferably at-least once in 3 years from the time of consummation of marriage or first sexual intercourse. If all the women between 35-65 years of age are screened at-least once in 2-3 years, the frequency of cervical cancer can be greatly reduced to 93%.  

 

Fortis Foundation in association with Fortis Hospital, Vashi hosted an awareness campaign titled ‘Teal To Heal Together’ to educate women on the importance of pap smear screenings and vaccination for the prevention and cure of cervical cancer. The campaign included public lectures and a registration drive that reached out to over 20 lac women across Mumbai making them aware of issues related to the prevention and management of cervical cancer. On the final day of the campaign over 10,000 women took a pledge to undergo cervical cancer screening.

 

Mr. Nikhil Shukla, Guinness World Records, Representative was present at the event to adjudicate and announce the entry of Fortis Hospital, Vashi into the Guinness World Record and presented a certification to Fortis Foundation once satisfied with the endeavour.

Fortis Foundation will continue to promote the cause of cervical cancer through various activations across as a part of their on-going corporate social responsibility program.  

Dr Vijay Agarwal, pideatric cardiac surgeon

Dr Sachin Bhonsle, Joint Replacement Surgeon

Dr Kalyan Dutta,Consultant Interventional Cardiologist,and Electrophysiologist, Fortis Hospitals ,Mulund & Dr Nilesh Maru, Cardiac Surgeon

Dr Kalyan Dutta,Consultant Interventional Cardiologist,and Electrophysiologist, Fortis Hospitals ,Mulund