SVIMS to breathe fresh air into lung treatment

Tirupati: Patients with advanced lung diseases can now heave a sigh of relief with Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) launching a special clinic for respiratory diseases.

The Advanced Lung Diseases Clinic (ALDC), which runs once a week on Friday afternoons, where a team of experts take a holistic view of patients.

The clinic will help the doctors and hospital management to have a thorough analysis in the assessment system for patients who are eligible to undergo transplantation and prepare them medically.

A well worked out standard protocol system is being followed in the treatment which was being done in reputed institutes nationally and internationally, said the Professor and HoD of Medicine at SVIMS Dr Alladi Mohan.

Speaking to The Hans India on the modalities of the advanced clinic, Mohan said that the idea was to provide a wholesome quality care.

“Lung transplantation is rarely done in India unlike cornea, kidney or liver. Only one or two centres are capable of performing these transplantations.

Hence, Director of SVIMS Dr TS Ravikumar has identified it as a key area and was part of the ten institutes of excellence articulated in the roadmap of the institute, on which we should focus,” he maintained.

Some patients with lung diseases may be in critical stage and critical care has been already available. To take it one step further to the highest order was the basic idea of the Director behind ALDC, said Dr Mohan.

It was only a beginning and has to go a long way towards the stage of transplantation.

But to reach that stage in assessing and identifying the beneficial patients, stabilising them and making them fit to undergo transplantation will be crucial as withstanding the surgery will be more important, he underlined.

Even after surgery the follow-up process becomes crucial which will also be taken care of at ALDC.

“The path to eventually start lung transplantation at SVIMS and to improve critical care services at par with the best centres in the world are the two main areas we were working on.

Now we were focussing on recipients of lungs and training and preparing them for surgery and not focussed on donors at this stage,” clarified Dr Mohan.

He advised patients with lung ailments to approach medicine OPD where the doctors will assess them.

People from US have been helping SVIMS in this initative and they visit the Institute periodically to review the situation and suggest in fine- tuning the procedures further.

Internal medicine and lung transplant expert at UT South Western Medical Center, Texas Dr Vaidehi Kaza came to SVIMS in July to launch this clinic for which the Associate Professor of Medicine Dr Harikrishna will be the programme leader of a multidisciplinary team that consists of physician, cardiologist, cardio-thorasic surgeon, psychiatrist, physiotherapist and nutritionist.