An advanced video endoscopy unit, costing Rs. 35 lakh, was commissioned in the Department of Gastroenterology in the Super Speciality Block of the King George Hospital here by Collector V. Seshadri on Wednesday.
The equipment would improve the diagnosis and treatment, Mr. Seshadri said.
“The equipment has combined gastro, colono, and duodeno probes,” Head of Department of Gastroenterology P. Murali Krishna said.
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The State government sanctioned the equipment and a former student of Andhra Medical College Pawan Lekha Raju, working as a gastroenterologist at Liverpool (U.K..), donated disposables worth Rs. 3 lakh to the department. A pharmaceutical company provided a computer and printer from its educational grant, for recording the tests done with the equipment. Superintendent of KGH M. Madhusudhana Babu said the long-felt need of having the latest endoscopy equipment of international standards was met with this combined probe.
The KGH has been doing endoscopies with the equipment it received during 2004.
The department will soon have another highly advanced equipment, the lithotripter along with a spy glass, for crushing stones in the gall bladder through endoscopic method. Each equipment costs Rs. 20 lakh.
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The lithotripter is being purchased with government grant and a donor is sponsoring the other equipment. Surgery can be avoided with this equipment and a patient will be treated as an outpatient and may be discharged the same day.
Principal of AMC N. Kalpana Subrahmanyam, noted gastroenterologist E. Pedaveerraju, and RMO of KGH G. Bangarraju were present.
“The Department of Gastroenterology is conducting 35 endoscopies and five to six colonoscopies every Monday and Thursday and 12 surgeries every Tuesday and Friday. It is also conducting liver clinic every Tuesday and vaccine for hepatitis B is being administered free of cost to patients,” Dr. Murali Krishna said. Under the Janani Sisu Suraksha Pathakam, immunoglobin is being administered to babies born to mothers suffering with hepatitis. Immunoglobin has to be given within six hours after birth to prevent transmission of hepatitis to the baby and each dose costing Rs. 3,800 in the market is given free of cost at the KGH.
Every department of KGH would be provided the required equipment and in future the hospital should not receive a comment that it lacked equipment, said superintendent of the hospital, M. Madhusudhana Babu.
Infrastructure-wise too the hospital would be getting additional facilities, Dr. Madhusudhana Babu said while talking to reporters after the Collector commissioned the video endoscopy equipment.The department would receive Rs. 1 crore worth equipment sponsored by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust. Many departments would receive equipment after the Hospital Development Society sanctioned Rs. 3.5 crore for the purpose. So far Rs. 11 crore out of the Rs. 30 crore sanctioned by the Chief Minister for the development of KGH, were released and the State Government was being pursued to release the remaining amount.
Super speciality departments
All super speciality departments would be accommodated in the super speciality wing of the hospital once the additional one and a half floors of the building were ready. A sum of Rs. 11 crore was being spent on the additional floors. The OPs of super speciality wings would also be accommodated here. Once this building was ready, the OP wing would be extended to the casualty block.