Anatomy Of A Miracle

“Will my son ever look and live like kids of his age?” This was a question that always hounded Sumita Baidya Bhadra, mother of 12-year-old Aaron. He was born with multiple complications -did not have nostrils or a palate, had multiple holes in his heart, one of his eyes was completely dysfunctional and the distance between his eyes was too small, with the doctors suspecting that his brain might not function properly too. Since birth, Aaron has undergone 15 surgeries just to survive. “Life is precious and now with his eyes and nose in the right place, we are very happy and feel positive. However, still, a lot more
“Wneeds to be done,” said Sumita.

Aaron would never have had a near normal face if a team of neurosurgeons, craniomaxillofacial surgeons, and anaesthetists at Aster Medcity in Kochi and Aster CMI in Bengaluru had not coordinated to successfully map a 3D model of the skull and worked and reworked on it several times before actually entering the operation theatre for the 12-hour surgery in which the entire skull and bones were cut into multiple pieces and then aligned. First, they did the frontal craniotomy, then the distance between the eyes was reduced, they then grated the nose and pushed forward the upper jaw to give a new look and make it more presentable. “Online, the team must have constructed and reconstructed Aaron’s face at least ten times, if not more, before we came to a final plan,” said Dr Sherry Peter, senior consultant, craniomaxillofacial surgery Aster Medcity, Kochi. “We could transfer the precision from virtual toreality in the operation theatre and that made a huge difference. A 20-hour surgery took only around 12 hours, with fewer complications and a faster healing process. On discharge, Aaron had a big smile on his face and that was our biggest reward,” said Dr Ravi Gopal Varma, director of Aster Global Institute of Neurosciences and lead consultant, neurosurgery, Aster CMI Bangalore.

Technological innovation and improvements are fast-changing healthcare in Kerala and helping both healthcare providers and patients. Using technology, doctors are now able to perform complex surgeries better and with much more confidence, which also aids in improving their patients’ health, resulting in amazing achievements andbringing in a profound change in the patient’s quality of life. “I didn’t have a normal childhood. And if not for technological advancement in medicine, I would have been denied a normal youth too,” said Harikrishnan AM (now 24), who was detected with a complex congenital health disease soon after birth, but his problems couldn’t be resolved as no one could understand the anatomy of his heart. He was 17 when he met pediatric cardiologist Dr Mahesh K at Amrita Hospital and he immediately understood his condition. But the surgeons needed to be convinced and for the first time in India, he introduced 3D printing of the heart to explain Hari’s condition.

Now, eight years later Hari, who has finished his post-graduation, is collaborating with Dr Mahesh to enhance technology in healthcare and empower people. “We use technology as an enabler, to do surgeries that wouldhave been almost impossible to perform otherwise. Most of the devices are available and used largely for gaming purposes and there are also applications available for other purposes. Now we are trying to merge and use it in medicine,” added Dr Mahesh.

Technology – such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D printing, robotics, and nanotechnology — are providing solutions to problems that were at one point thought to be beyond human intervention. They have helped doctors explore places in the patient body where human hands and tools can’t easily reach and this has translated into more successful surgeries and treatment outcomes, besides strengthening the doctor-patient bond and trust. “Several complex surgeries have also become less invasive because of robotics. Unlike in open surgery, in robotic surgery, unless something uneventful happens, the bleeding is very less, recovery is faster and pain is very less”, Dr Kishore TA, urologist, Aster Medcity, Kochi, who is the first person in Kerala to do robotic surgery and second person in the world to perform the complex Level 3 IVC thrombectomy with suprahepatic clamping.

Using technology ensures that the number of days of hospitalization is reduced – within 10 days of a critical surgery you can get back to normal activity and within six weeks you can get back to work if you don’t have any other existing comorbidities. For the hospital, it reduces the labour costs. Yet not everyone has access to high-quality healthcare, especially due to the ‘high’ cost involved. “An open surgery may cost around Rs 3 lakh, while robotic surgery may cost around Rs 4 lakh. Many people are not willing to spend for robotics but then they don’t calculate the advantages — fewer complications, early recovery, and fewer functional problems — the patients only stand to gain even if they may have to pay a little extra,” added Dr Kishore.

Now, technology is not just limited to complex health conditions; the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedlyaccelerated technological advancement and adoption in healthcare. Telehealth became popular during the peak of Covid, making it possible for patients to receive care without an in-person doctor visit. In addition, remote patient monitoring became more widely accepted, even as healthcare trackers, wearables, and sensors that monitor vitals to taking remote echocardiograms, are redesigning healthcare in Kerala. “Technology is now playing a major role in patient’s disease control and treatment. If it is a user-friendly technology, it can help a patient keep their vitals in check. For diabetes patients it is a blessing as technology helps keep their sugar levels in check,” said diabetologist Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, who is also called the ‘technology man’ for diabetes in India.

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