Kauvery Hospitals, a leading multi-specialty healthcare hospital chain in India, have always been at the forefront of medical treatment, technology and service. Although the many awards and distinctions that were conferred on the group over the years are a matter of great pride, what is more important to the doctors, technicians and support staff is the successful recovery of those who are treated for their illnesses.
Cancer is one of
the most feared of all diseases, but modern medical science is making rapid
strides in treating it. One of the most effective and successful treatment
protocols for serious illnesses such as high-risk haematological malignancies,
bone marrow failure syndromes, haemoglobinopathies such as Thalassemia and some
primary immunodeficiency disorders, etc. is bone marrow transplantation.
When a patient
has undergone radiation or chemotherapy to kill abnormal cells that are causing
the spread of cancer or other diseases, healthy cells must be introduced into
the patient to replace the ones that have been killed. Stem cells are found in
the bone marrow and the replacement cells may be either those that have been
taken from the patient and returned after treatment (Autologous transplant) or
cells taken from a genetically matched donor (Allogeneic transplant).
Bone marrow
transplantation is at the cutting edge of medical technology and while the
procedure has been available at some leading hospitals in metropolitan areas, Kauvery
Hospitals have taken the technology to tier 2 cities. Trichy Kauvery
Hospital’s BMT service is licensed by the government of Tamil Nadu. The
hospital management and various NGOs provide support to financially challenged
patients to undergo this complex treatment. Setting up such a state-of-the-art
transplant department requires the availability of transplant physicians,
specialized laboratory facilities, dedicated round-the-clock post-transplant
care and more. Kauvery Hospital Trichy has a fully equipped and staffed
department to perform bone marrow transplants of the highest international
standards. BMT unit which started functioning in 2020 recorded its 50th
successful transplant in December 2023.
This remarkable
achievement of providing world-class BMT treatment in a tier 2 city was
recently highlighted by Dr. RM Subbaiah, Consultant Clinical Haematologist,
at the 28th annual meeting of Asia Pacific Blood and Marrow Transplantation
(APBMT) held in Indonesia. Dr. RM Subbaiah who performed Trichy’s first bone
marrow transplant at Kauvery Hospital in 2020 said: “The crux of bone marrow
transplantation is post-transplant follow up where the patient needs to review with
the doctor frequently to assess the optimal functioning of graft, watch for
infections so they may be treated promptly, or to quickly diagnose the
development of graft versus host disease so that the use of immunosuppressive
agents could be optimized to prevent life-threatening consequences.”
Among the stellar
achievements of the Kauvery Hospital BMT department is performing a bone marrow
transplant on a 4-month-old infant. This highly complex procedure was carried
out by Dr. Vinod Gunasekaran, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist who
has 10 years of experience in bone marrow transplants. Dr. Vinod Gunasekaran,
who performed the first paediatric transplant at Kauvery Hospital in 2021 said
“This was a case of a complex bone marrow transplant done on a 4-month-old baby
suffering from Osteopetrosis, a rare ailment which is fatal without an urgent
transplant. The procedure was successful; the child is nearly 2 years old now
and in good health with normal development parameters. Notably, the donor stem
cells were safely collected from the child’s 2-year-old brother. Also, children
with thalassemia, who require lifelong blood transfusions, have undergone bone
marrow transplant at a young age and are free from transfusions now. Similarly,
at the other end of the spectrum, recently the hospital has also performed a
BMT on an elderly, 74-year-old individual to treat his life-threatening
haematological malignancy, which is now under control for more than 6 months.
While
traditionally bone marrow transplants require 100% donor compatibility, at
Kauvery Hospital the use of the latest medical technology means that it is now
possible to perform transplants with even a 50% genetic match.
Speaking about
achieving the milestone of 50 BMTs, Dr. D. Senguttuvan, Executive Director
& Co-Founder of Kauvery Group of hospitals, said that reaching the
milestone of 50 BMTs in a tier 2 city like Trichy is a remarkable feat. The
hospital’s world-class medical standards, technology and equipment are the
reasons behind the 40 successful adult and 10 paediatric transplants done so
far. He congratulated Drs. Dr. RM Subbaiah and Dr. Vinod Gunasekaran on this
remarkable achievement. He went on to say that now there is no longer any need
for the people of Trichy and around to travel to major metropolitan centres to
have BMTs performed since all the required infrastructure, of the best
standard, is available in Trichy itself. Dr. Senguttuvan also said that the
Kauvery Hospital Haematology & BMT department will continue to grow and
expand its services to provide the best possible care and treatment to those
residing in and around the rapidly growing city of Trichy.