Stalwarts and eminent professionals from the healthcare industry gathered for the book launch of ‘Ward 10 – Remembering Rangabashyam’, a chronicle of the life of celebrated gastroenterologist, the late Dr N Rangabashyam, at a ceremony in the city, on Thursday.
Rangabashyam, who passed away in 2013, was a pioneer in the field of surgical gastroenterology and proctology. He was the first person to establish the Dept of Surgical Gastroenterology at the Madras Medical College, and served as the honorary surgeon to former president R Venkataraman. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2002.
Apollo Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy speaks on late Gastroenterologist Rangabashyam at a function held to launch a book on the latter | P JAWAHAR
Speaking at the function, chief guest Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said: “I admired NR, as he was fondly known, in every way – not just as a wonderful colleague but also a respected teacher who showed his proficiency in his field. No wonder Ward 10 (his ward at MMC) was always filled with students who wanted to learn from him!”
Dr Abraham Verghese, vice chair for theory and practice of medicine, Stanford University, USA, recounted his experience as a student under Rangabashyam, describing him as “a skilled surgeon”, but short-tempered if his colleagues failed to keep his high standards. “He leaves behind a legion of physicians whose moral compass is absolutely set,” said Verghese.
The book was launched by Chitra, Rangabashyam’s wife, who presented a copy to Reddy. ‘Dr Rangabashyathin Saritham’ – a Tamil biographical sketch by Shanthakumari Sivakadaksham, was also released.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by Express News Service / December 16th, 2016
Balloons turn into air pressure models, DVDs transform into hovercraft and kitchen utensils become devices for physics experiments. For government middle school students, many of whom are without proper science labs in their schools, these Saturday sessions stretch their imagination, thanks to the efforts of Lata Kumar, former Anna University professor.
Her ‘Curious People’ science initiative, with the help of ‘select school students who moonlight as co-instructors, involves conducting these sessions for corporation school students from Classes 6 to 8.
Although a lot of classes draw from popular encyclopaedias of home experiments, she mixes her years of physics teaching. But why only middle school students? “Middle school is the right time to learn basic concepts in science visually and through hands-on experiments. Class 6 is when science is broken down into sub-branches. So we target those students,” says Kumar. Experiments are intended to expose students to science and kindle their inquisitive spirit. Topics like ‘light’ and ‘heat’ are learned from candle-glass experiments; botany is iodine-on-leaf test; and chemistry with ingredients like vinegar and baking soda.
Kumar says corporation schools in the city have been open to her ideas. Children improve social skills by interacting with their peers. The real driver, she says, is the general misconception about state board science syllabus not being good enough. “When I started designing the programme, I found the state board imitating CBSE. It is the teaching method and the way exams are conducted that need change. Only that can inspire real interest in the subject.”
Manoj Suresh, a Class 12 student of Akshar Arbol school who is a volunteer, explains a lesson. Children are told how laws of physics from acceleration to mass affect an action like a football kick. It is taught while they play the game .
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by Amrutha Varshini / TNN / December 03rd, 2016
CHENNAI: 30/11/2016: Ace Camera Technician Julison Vincent ( Abudu ). Photo: HANDOUT_E_MAIL | Photo Credit: HANDOUT_E_MAIL
Noted camera expert Julison Vincent passed away here on Monday. He was 50.
Popular among photographers from the media and film industries, Julison, affectionately called Abbudu, was an expert in troubleshooting sophisticated cameras of any brand from any part of the world.
He is survived by wife Jane Julison, son Joshua and daughter Joshna.
Julison was brought to the industry by his father Vincent, who is also a camera technician. Late cinematographer A.Vincent was Julison’s paternal uncle.
“People in the industry consider Abbudu the best camera technician in the country. He would fix within minutes the cameras termed irreparable by the respective manufacturers,” said a photojournalist, who was his regular customer.
A philanthropist, he often declined to take money from poor customers, he recalled.
The last rites were performed at Fathima church in Kodambakkam on Wednesday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / December 01st, 2016
A. Velumani (second right), founder and Managing Director of Thyrocare, received the ‘Pride of Kovai’ award from B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar (third right), Chairman Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Jayakumar Ramdass (third left), President, Rotary Club of Coimbatore, Metropolis, in the city recently.
The ‘Pride of Kovai’ award of the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis was conferred on A Velumani, founder and Managing Director of Thyrocare, here at a function recently.
The Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan B.K. Krishnaraj Vanvarayar and the club President Jayakumar Ramdass presented the citation and award to Dr .Velumani for his vocational excellence.
Dr. Velumani, hailing from farmers’ families at Appananaickenpatti near Coimbatore, overcame poverty to first get a science degree, a post-graduate degree in bio-chemistry and later a doctorate while working for Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
With just Rs 2 lakh he established Thyrocare, which today carries out 50,000 investigations a day and is today a Rs. 33 billion company, the citation said. “The company’s pathology laboratory has been registering a year on year growth of 100 per cent for more than 10 years,” it noted.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Velumani traced his journey, citing valuable work mantras that had helped him. He declared that it was the ‘luxury of poverty’ that had propelled him to excel in his field. Mr Vanavarayar said Dr. Velumani’s life story was fit for inspiring millions. Mr Jayakumar said Rotary Metropolis had chosen Dr Velumani for its vocational excellence award because of his phenomenal achievement through sheer perseverance.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / Special Correspondent / November 08th, 2016
Shakira gets annoyed when she recalls her troubles with traditional dentures for almost five years. They fell out while she talked, made it tough to chew and worse, often choked her.
Shakira, now 30, lost her teeth and a substantial part of her jawbone because of a condition called juvenile aggressive periodontitis.
Dentures were the first choice, but understanding her difficulties dentists soon told her to consider implants -prosthetic teeth fixed to the jawbone with titanium screws.
But that wasn’t easy either because Shakira did not have enough of the upper jawbone to help doctors fix the prosthetic teeth. “Traditionally, we would graft the jawbone using the cheek bone so we could fix the implant and then prosthetic teeth. But that comes with risks because we expose the entire cheek bone.
At times, we abandon the surgery. There is delay in treatment time,” said senior maxillofacial surgeon Dr Gunaseelan Rajan, medical director of Rajan Dental Hospital.
So, Dr Rajan and his team decided to use modern technology, adopted in many European countries, to simplify the surgery.
A day ahead of the surgery, doctors scanned her jaw and made a virtual stent using specialized software. Technical experts using a special polymer printed out a 3D model of the surgical stent that became a guide to anchor four zygomatic titanium implants on her cheekbone.
“The stent is discarded and the implant will act as the jawbone where a denture can be permanently fixed,” he said.
The five-day process is done under anesthesia but is more precise than the conventional surgery.
“We did not have to open the cheek bone. The procedure has lesser morbidity and is a lot more comfortable for patients as it is customized to their needs,” he said.
Shakira is happy too. The titanium screws in the jawbone secure the prosthetic teeth to the implant, making them feel almost normal.
“They don’t wiggle or slip, as dentures did,” she said, giving a broad happy smile with her new shiny white teeth.
Dr Rajan has done a similar procedure on 63-year-old Muthukrishan, who lost all his teeth due to old age.
“As of now it costs up to 6,000 more to customize these implants. Soon, we will have customized implants completely replacing dentures,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Chennai / TNN / October 20th, 2016
Many meteorological observatories in the State and the country still use mercury-based measuring instruments to make weather observations and predictions.
In a bid to address the challenge of using dangerous metal, B. Amudha, Scientist-D, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, wrote a report assessing the factors preventing many developing countries to switch over to digital devices.
This won her the Prof. Dr. Vilho Vaisala award instituted by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
She was the first Indian Meteorological Department official to receive the award for development of instruments and methods of observation in developing countries at a WMO conference in Madrid, Spain in September. The award was instituted in 1986 and carries a medal, diploma and a cash prize.
Ms. Amudha was nominated to the expert team of WMO. “It was decided during an convention that the mercury based devices must be replaced with digital ones by 2020. But, many developing countries did not initiate measures. My task was to submit a report on the status of alternatives to such instruments and assessing the factors limiting the countries from switching over to digital devices,” she said.
Ms. Amudha framed a questionnaire seeking 191 member countries to respond about the status of the use of mercury based instruments.
“Only 28 per cent of the developing countries responded. In Tamil Nadu, we are replacing mercury barometers used to measure atmospheric pressure in a phased manner. We now have digital barometers in 12 of the 18 observatories run by the department across the State. However, 24 part-time observatories are yet to get digital barometers,” she said.
Moreover, the department is still in the process of replacing mercury thermometers used to measure temperature across the country.
“My report was chosen for the award as it was considered useful to address the issue of enabling transition to digital instruments in developing countries and assist in policy decisions,” Ms. Amudha said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai/ by Special Correspondent / Chennai – October 14th, 2016
Leading dermatologist and cosmetologist G.R. Ratnavel was declared brain-dead here on Sunday. He was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in Tiruchi after he collapsed during a visit to the Rockfort temple here a couple of days ago.
Dr. Ratnavel (50), who headed the Department of Cosmetology at the Government Stanley Medical College, Chennai, was in Tiruchi to attend a conference of dermatologists.
Organ harvest
His family has given its consent to donate his organs, Ratnavel’s father-in-law Maha Krishnan, a senior dermatologist who was also in Tiruchi to attend the same conference, said.
Dr. Ratnavel is credited with having established the first cadaver skin bank at the Stanley Medical College and the Department of Cosmetology at the same institution.
He collapsed while worshipping at the Uchi Pillaiyar shrine atop the Rockfort on Friday morning. He was carried by a few people down and taken in an autorickshaw to a nearby private hospital. He was then shifted to Apollo Hospitals in Tiruchi as he was also a consultant with the hospital in Chennai.
Hospital sources said he was brought in an unconscious state and had suffered intracranial haemorrhage. Having got the consent of the family to retrieve the vital organs, the process of harvest of lung, kidneys, heart, cornea and skin would be done at the Apollo Hospitals here late on Sunday evening, sources said.
Barring the lungs and skin which would be sent to Fortis Malar Hospital at Chennai and Stanley Medical College respectively, the other organs would be sent to few private hospitals in Tiruchi, the sources added.
The post-mortem is expected to be done at the Government Hospital in Tiruchi on Monday. The funeral will take place at Chennai, his family circles said.
Dr. Ratnavel has trained many cosmetic surgeons, said Tiruchi-based senior dermatologist N. Balasubramanian.
Doctors at Government Stanley Medical College were shocked and grieved over the brain death of Dr. Ratnavel, who was the head of the cosmetology department and had served in the hospital for over a decade.
“It was Dr. Ratnavel who developed the cosmetology department — there is no other such department in any government hospital here,” said hospital dean Ponnambalam Namasivayam.
Cadaver skin bank
Dr. Ratnavel spearheaded the setting up of a cadaver skin bank at the hospital, the first of its kind in the government health system in the State. The skin bank, opened in August, stores harvested donor skin that can then be used on individuals as a temporary skin covering cases of burns or acute skin failure as a dressing.
“We have lost a very good colleague,” said V. Anandan, head of the dermatology department, who was with Dr. Ratnavel at the conference in Tiruchi. “He has done so much for the institution. This will be a huge loss to the hospital,” said K. Kannan, head of the cardiology department.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / R. Rajaram / Tiruchi-Chennai, October 10th, 2016
A patient at the Cancare Foundation being administered palliative care.— Photo: M. Vedhan
Cancare Foundation provides care and treatment to cancer patients with a special focus on those who are chronically ill or in the terminal stages.
Ever since he came to Ramarau Clinic a couple of weeks ago, Ramesh* has been able to handle pain much better. The 62-year-old, who has oral cancer, is terminally ill but writing on a notepad — since he has difficulty speaking — he praised the doctors and nurses who looked after him.
The staff are part of Cancare Foundation that functions out of the clinic, and which provides care and treatment to cancer patients with a special focus on those who are chronically ill or in the terminal stages.
In the next room, another patient who has lymphoma said, “I didn’t know until four months ago that I had cancer. They said I was at a late stage. I was in a lot of pain initially, but it is much better now,” she said.
The five-bed centre offers free care and palliation to those who cannot be looked after at home. The Foundation also provides home care. Over the five years of its existence, over 6,000 home visits have been made to over 700 patients. In the year-and-a-half that the palliative care centre has been running, there have been 243 admissions. “There is a growing thrust towards palliative care both internationally and in the country,” said S.G. Ramanan, oncologist and one of the trustees of the Foundation. “What we do is integrate palliative care early in the course of the illness so that the transition for the patient is seamless. Studies have shows that the early intervention of palliative care in oncology actually improves survival rates,” he said.
Apart from the centre and home visits, the Foundation also focuses on education: continuing medical education programmes are held for medical and paramedical professionals. Ahead of October 8, which is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, the Foundation has planned to conduct a day-long conference on pain and palliative care in oncology, said Akhila Srinivasan, one of the trustees. “The focus is going to be on the right to a painless death,” she said.
“With the incidence of cancer rising in India and 10 lakh new cancer cases every year, most of which come in for care very late, there is a need to increase awareness about palliative care,” said Dr. Ramanan. Families needing help can call 7299203457/42956777.
(*Name changed)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – October 02nd, 2016
Assistant director of Mobile Forensic Science Laboratory, Vellore, K Pari has helped investigating officers solve a recent hit- and-run case with the help of a portion of tyre mark, a few pieces of broken metals and paint flakes of an unidentified vehicle that was involved in the accident.
Pari’s efforts and expertise won him the award for applying scientific methods in a real life-time situation.
Director general of police Asok Kumar presented him the award during the state police duty meet in Chennai on August 13.
Natrampalli inspector Muralidharan, who investigated the hit-and-run case , got the award for best investigation.
Pari said the accident took place at Athurkuppam on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway around 3.30am on April 22.
The victims were travelling on a bullock cart from their native village Elaraipatti to Natrampalli for a temple festival.
When the bullock cart was passing through Athurkuppam, it was hit by an unidentified vehicle. Three women died and seven people sustained injuries.
“It was a rear end collision. Except the tyre mark, flakes of paint and broken materials, there was nothing in the accident spot,” said Pari.
“Going by the tyre mark, we come to a conclusion that it was a heavy vehicle that hit the bullock cart. The rear right side of the bullock cart was hit by the vehicle. We concluded that the left front side of the heavy vehicle had hit the bullock cart. Since the paint flakes were brown in colour, we focused on brown colour heavy vehicles. We checked CCTV footages at the toll plaza in Vaniyambadi and Krishnagiri,” he said.
However, no such vehicle had passed the toll plazas for the next couple of hours after the accident. “None of the heavy vehicles passed the toll plazas matched our suspect list. We continued checking the footages,” he said.
The investigation team zeroed in on one vehicle as it took over 20 hours to cross Krishnagiri toll plaza form Vaniyambadi.
“Normally, it will take 90 minutes between Krishnagiri and Vaniyambadi toll plazas. Though the video footages showed that the vehicle was intact (no damage was seen), we grew suspicious as the vehicle took over 22 hours to cross the Krishnagiri toll plaza,” he said.
Investigations helped police nab the man behind the wheels of the vehicle that claimed the three lives.
The team found that stark difference between the right and left front portion of the vehicle. “While the left side was painted and gives a glassy look, the right side was pale brown. So, it strengthened our doubts. Further investigation revealed that the driver had halted en route to Krishnagiri to repair the damaged portion,” he further said.
The sample of paint collected from the right side of the vehicle and paint flakes found on the accident spot also matched. The analysis of the samples at the Forensic Lab in Chennai also confirmed it, said Pari, who had been honoured by the police department four times earlier for helping solve cases.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Shanmugasundaram J / TNN / August 11th, 2016
E. Gnanam, chairman, Muthu Group and S. Srinivasan, managing director of the company. Photo: R. Ravindran
From a modest 300 sq.ft. shop set up 45 years ago, Muthu Pharmacy has grown into 51-outlet enterprise. Its founder E. GNANAM talks to LIFFY THOMAS about the spectacular journey
A 1970-model blue Vespa kept in a glass enclosure greets me as I set foot in the corporate office of Muthu Group in Egmore.
On the wall, right above the classic scooter, there is a note.
“We don’t sell banned drugs here,” it says.
The scooter and the note serve two different purposes.
“While the former reminds me of my beginnings, the latter apprises visitors of the value on which the company is built,” explains E. Gnanam.
He set up his first pharmacy 45 years ago in a 300 sq.ft. space in Perambur.
“This is the first vehicle I bought from my earnings; it costed me Rs. 3,000 then,” says Gnanam.
It was with this vehicle that he would go on his business rounds.
From that humble beginning, his enterprise Muthu Group has grown into a Rs. 300 crore business, consisting of five companies — Muthu Pharmacy Pvt. Ltd., Muthu Pharma Pvt. Ltd., Pearl Medicals, Shell Pharmaceutics Pvt. Ltd. and Rao and Co. Pharma Pvt. Ltd.
Gnanam, who is Chairman of Muthu Group, says he has built the brand over the years based on ethics, trust and hard work.
“We stick to the brand prescribed by the doctor, and don’t suggest any other. We don’t sell expired goods,” says 65-year-old Gnanam.
Starting from scratch
So, how did his journey begin?
When he was 16, Gnanam left his village in Tanjore and came to Madras, where he worked at his uncle’s pharmacy shop.
“My work involved sweeping the shop and cleaning the shelves where medicines were kept. My first salary was Rs. 60, a major portion of which would go towards buying food,” says Gnanam who simultaneously did a diploma in pharmacy at the Kilpauk Medical College.
No, this is not what you are thinking: there is no rags-to-riches story here.
Gnanam did not have to put himself through such deprivations, but chose to. His family has always been financially sound and he subjected himself to menial work at a pharmacy because he wanted to learn the ropes of the profession.
By 1970, Gnanam knew what is took to run a pharmacy and set up his own enterprise. His first shop was called Sangam Pharmacy, which he opened borrowing Rs. 60,000 from his mother. It was located near Lourdes Mada Church in Perambur.
For the next two-and-a-half years, Gnanam would be the only employee at the shop.
“I was making sales worth Rs. 250 per day. When it reached Rs. 700 a day I hired an assistant,” he says.
Since then, the business has been steadily growing.
From 1974, Gnanam opened one outlet every two years, giving a fancy name to each of them.
“In 1978, I decided to stick to one name and re-branded all the outlets as Muthu Pharmacy,” he says.
In 1982, he forayed into the wholesale pharmacy business.
“It took me 14 years to find my feet in the business,” he says.
As the brand started expanding, Gnanam was faced with other challenges. Not knowing English was a stumbling block for Gnanam who would later go on to become the general secretary of Tamil Nadu Chemists and Druggists Association and joint secretary of All India Chemists and Druggists Association.
“I picked the nuances of English at work, especially from many of my Anglo Indian customers. It did not matter that my grammar was wrong,” says Gnanam, who spoke to me in halting English.
On the subject of competition, Gnanam says it has not affected the brand in any way. “We never give any discounts, which are a lie,” he says. “Also, name the medicine, and we’ll have it.” From 1990, Muthu Pharmacy started looking beyond expansion, and began to offer value-added services. It introduced door-to-door delivery of medicines.
It added a doctor’s chamber to its pharmacy. Currently, 10 shops in the city have a room where customers get to consult a doctor and get the medicine from the same roof.
Muthu Group now has over 500 employees. While his daughter takes care of the HR and finance aspects of the business, his cousin takes care of the retail units.
It currently has 51 pharmacy stores and 19 wholesale outlets. They deliver to 3,500 chemists in and around the city in a day. The company plans to stop expanding its stores when it reaches 100 outlets.
“We have around 46,000 formulations in our retail outlets,” says S. Srinivasan, managing director and relative of Gnanam, who has been helping him run the business since 1981.
Reaching out
In the initial years, the pharmacy built its brand conducting blood donations camps.
“Our campaigns were a huge hit. The blood we collected from donors was given only to government hospitals,” says Gnanam.
Through Muthu Pharmacy Charitable Trust, the company has been funding the education of underprivileged children. It has also instituted an achievers award. The Muthu Hospital at Pulianthope is also reaching out to many people.
(A column about entities that started in a small way in a neighbourhood and grew bigger)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Downtown / by Prince Frederick / Chennai – August 06th, 2016
