Hyderabad, December 22 , 2019: Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, announced the launch of the state-of-the-art Brain and Spine Suite equipped with the advanced Intra Operative MRI, on Sunday at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills. Chief Guest Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Hon’ble Minister of State for Home Affairs, Govt. of India; formally inaugurated it, in the presence of Dr Sangita Reddy, Jt. Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group; Dr Hari Prasad, President, Hospitals Division, Apollo Hospitals Group; Mr Subramanyam, Regional CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad and Dr Alok Ranjan, Sr. Neurosurgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad.
The newly established dedicated Brain Suite and Spine Suite, is one of its kind in this part of the world, equipped with the advanced Neuro-navigation frame and frameless stereotactic system; Cranial and Spinal complete Endoscopic System; Intra-operative Neuro Physiological Monitor; Intra-Operative Ultrasound; Robotic Spine Mazor system, O-arm surgical imaging system and neuro navigation.
This facility brings about many times greater precision eliminating human errors to a large extent, in the treatment of the most critical, complex and delicate organs of the body, the brain and the spine. The sophisticated and patient friendly technology enables accomplishing significantly better results with smaller incisions, minimal blood loss, fewer surgical complications, speedy recovery and reduced hospitalization.
Speaking on the occasion Shri G. Kishan Reddy said, I am delighted to part of the one of its kind dedicated Brain and Spine Suite, being launched at the Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad. Apollo always strived to bring the latest and the best technology to enable the patient to seek the best possible care available anywhere in the world. Today Apollo is the global destination for world class care. This new technology enables real time imaging of the brain and spine thereby enhancing the efficiency of the surgeon and ensuring high precisions in the care of the most delicate part of the body, the brain, which warrants extreme caution. Narendra Modi government has taken several initiatives in the health arena, the National Medical Council, which was passed in the last session of the parliament is set to change the face of medical education and health care in India. The bill will contribute enormously by reaching healthcare to the remotest part of the country. The Government of India’s Ayuashman Bharat scheme is the world’s largest insurance scheme in the world. The Government through a special legislation enabled a public private partnership model of private medical colleges collaborating with the Government Hospitals for better medical care to the poor. Our Indian medical care is known to combine compassion towards patients with the latest technology, thereby ensuring best medical outcomes. Apollo has been in the forefront of fulfilling its CSR commitments in the Corporate Sector, yet the poor patients, especially those from rural areas, are scared to go to Corporate hospitals to seek treatment, worried about the cost involved, the hospital should set up mechanism to reach out to such patients and make them aware of their CSR initiatives under which they can avail the facility. During my visits across the country, I come across people talking about their visit to Hyderabad, specially to Apollo for medical needs, I take pride in the compliment, being the MP from here, Apollo is synonymous with the confidence and trust people have for best care. Today along with improvements in Technology, the diseases too are rising with newer ones afflicting people. Over the years our lifestyle has changed and we make less physical effort and hard work, this is impacting our health and there is a need on our part to be more conscious of our health and there is need for hospitals to make effort to increase awareness about health among people.
Proud to have a Minister of the stature of Shri Kishan Reddy representing us, who is a people’s man, down to earth, yesterday when he was coming back to Hyderabad, despite being eligible to travel by Business Class was requesting his PA to get him a seat in economy class, so humble he is. The experienced and skilled neurosurgeons at Apollo Hospitals, operate with the highest degree of micro-surgical precision and standard of excellence, using minimal invasive approach. The latest technologies coupled with the expertise of our neurosurgeons translates into best clinical outcomes for patients suffering from brain and spine disorders, says Dr Sangita Reddy. This state-of-the-art technology makes the Neuro Sciences Center at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, the safest and the most advanced facility for neuro care, in the country. Universal Health access is critical for the country, to enable every single individual to access quality medical care. It was Apollo Hospitals which pioneered the Universal Health care concept in India through a non-profit organisation, Apollo Healthcare Association, way back in 1985, which was precursor to the existing healthcare insurance in the country. The purpose of which was to create an access to quality healthcare to everyone, as no individual can afford modern healthcare from their own resources and health is the second largest reason for rural indebtedness. But its heartening to know that the health insurance coverage is on the rise, currently it is 24% and with the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme we should have over 60% of the population being covered under insurance in the very near future. This will be the single largest health insurance scheme anywhere in the world, which is a tremendous achievement. The Society looks upon High technology hospitals to reduce the cost, but one should take note of the fact that the healthcare cost in India is one-tenth of it, abroad, more than 110 countries patients come to India for care. However our input cost is very high as the entire technology is imported from abroad. When we bring the best care at affordable prices, insurance is the only way to ensure the care reaching everyone, rich or poor. Regarding the Ayushman Bharat, the request is to bring the cost down because of the high volume of patients under the scheme, but our healthcare is being already sustained at a highly subsidized pricing, so bringing cost down is not possible, therefore my request is to make Ayushman Bharat more medical care provider friendly to continue to reach the best care to everyone and we will be more than happy to meet you half way. India has the best skilled doctors and technology, but the healthcare economics is the most neglected and least understood aspect in the country. An appropriate healthcare financing mechanism is lacking in the country, therefore today Apollo is the only Indian owned large healthcare group in the country, everyone else is owned by outsiders, the reason is healthcare is one of the most difficult sectors, we need a more sympathetic and understanding atmosphere for the healthcare industry to sustain.
The Intra-operative MRI (iMRI), which is part of the facility, enables real-time images of the brain during surgery. It transmits accurate pictures of the brain that guides the neurosurgeon to remove brain tumors and other abnormalities with greater efficiency during surgery. The real-time images from iMRI can enable the operating surgeon to locate any abnormalities of the brain shifting during surgery, which otherwise is difficult to assess and often causes complications post surgery. It ensures with precision the removal of the entire brain tumor. This becomes critical, as often surgeons have difficulty in distinguishing between normal tissue and tumorous tissue, resulting in the healthy tissue being removed, causing damage to the brain and traces of tumor being left behind, which enables tumor to relapse in no time in the brain.
The Robotic Spine (Mazor) System, ensures improved surgical accuracy, smaller incisions, fewer surgical complications, reduced hospitalization and faster recovery. While the O-arm, the surgical imaging system, is an intra-operative 2D/3D imaging system designed to meet the workflow demands of the surgical environment and can be of utility for a variety of procedures of the spine, cranial and orthopedics.
