Rare surgery done on pre-term baby

CUDDALORE: 

             Two paediatricians of Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital, functioning under Annamalai University at Chidambaram, have done a rare surgery on a grossly under-weight pre-term baby.

            A statement from the university said that medical team comprising Raveenthiran and Dakshinamoorthy successfully performed the surgery on October 20 on the extremely pre-term and palm-sized female baby weighing hardly 800 grams. The baby was born at 32 weeks of pregnancy.

               She was suffering from a peculiar malformation called amniotic band syndrome. In this condition the mother's placental membrane would get detached and strangulate the foetal parts. Consequently, a deep encircling scar was caused in the baby's limbs. If left untreated the ring of scar would hamper blood supply and cause auto-amputation of limbs.

Hour-long surgery

               After an hour-long surgery the medical team removed the scar and also carried out a plastic surgery. The baby is well and is still under intensive care. Vice- Chancellor of Annamalai University M.Ramanathan and Medical College Dean N.Chidambaram congratulated the team.

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Rajah Muthiah Medical college celebrates silver jubilee

Pro-Chancellor of Annamalai University M.A.M.Ramaswamy speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of Rajah Muthiah Medical College at Chidambaram on Tuesday. 

 

CUDDALORE: 

          Padma Bhushan awardee and surgeon N. Rangabashyam has said that Annamalai University deserves a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of jubilee celebrations organised by the 80-year-old institution.

            Dr. Rangabashyam was speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of Rajah Muthiah Medical College (RMMC) run by the university at Chidambaram, near here on Tuesday. The state-of-the-art medical facilities at the RMMC were comparable to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences and Madras Medical College, he said. By virtue of its location, the RMMC was catering for the rural population and setting an example for the country on how to deliver healthcare services to villages where Mahatma Gandhi saw the soul of the nation.

           Dr. Rangabashyam said that even decades before the authorities were grappling with the issue of rural healthcare services, Annamalai University had set a trend by establishing the medical college 25 years ago in the rural settings. Hence, the RMMC could serve as an example of how “proper doctors” could be trained by screening a large number of villagers. He paid encomiums to the vision of founder Pro-Chancellors Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar and Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar, and Pro-Chancellor M.A.M. Ramaswamy for setting up portals of education in the remote corner of Tamil Nadu.

          The Pro-Chancellor recalled how the RMMC had come into being against odds. Originally planned as a dental college, it had blossomed into a full-fledged medical college, with a hospital fitted with modern equipment and over 1,000 beds. Mr Ramaswamy said that thanks to the vision of his forefathers, the RMMC could be built when construction costs were much lower than now. The RMMC was not built overnight. It took shape after overcoming many struggles. Looking back now, he was feeling proud about its growth. The Pro-Chancellor recalled the services rendered by S.V. Chittibabu, former vice-chancellor (during whose tenure the RMMC had been started), the successive vice-chancellors, deans and medical superintendents for the development of the college.

              Mr Chittibabu, terming the success of the RMMC as a “saga of achievement,” called upon the Pro-Chancellor to start a super specialty medical institution, have a tie-up with reputed medical institutions, in India and abroad, and put in place a roadmap for future development with provision for research. Vice-Chancellor M.Ramanathan said that the RMMC was adequately meeting the needs in the districts of Cuddalore, Villupuram and Nagapattinam, and also the clinical needs of the students.

              Registrar M. Rathinasabapathi, Dean (Faculty of Medicine) N.Chidambaram and Medical Superintendent S.Viswanathan spoke. The Pro-Chancellor set up an endowment in the name of Dr Rangabashyam with a contribution of Rs 50,000 and released the RMMC magazine.

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Rajah Muthiah Medical College gets Rs.60 lakh grant from UGC

CUDDALORE: 

             Rajah Muthiah Medical College of Annamalai University, as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations now on, has extended its intensive care unit to provide timely health care to more number of patients and built an auditorium to conduct seminars and symposiums to update the knowledge of the faculty, according to M. Ramanathan, Vice-Chancellor of Annamalai University.

             Addressing a press conference here Dr. Ramanathan, who had earlier served as the Medical Superintendent and Principal of the college, as well as Dean, Faculty of Medicine, said that the University Grants Commission had sanctioned a grant of Rs.60 lakh to the medical college for conducting camps for cancer detection and screening patients for cardiac problems.

          Dr. Ramanathan said started 25 years ago on August 1985 the medical college had a hospital attached to it right from the beginning to render quality and specialty health care services to the people of the backward region. The 1,500-beded hospital was equipped with modern equipment such as CT scan, MRI, mammography, colour Doppler with ultrasonogram, C-arm, laparoscopes and endoscopes.

              Every day it treats 3,000 outpatients and 1,110 in-patients, and annually it performed 14,485 scheduled surgeries and 5,885 emergency surgeries. It was also running a “Hospital on wheels,” an air-conditioned ambulance service with doctors, paramedical staff and sophisticated equipment such as ventilators, defibrillator and cardiac monitors, and life-saving drugs.

            The hospital's community medicine division had adopted three Primary Health Centres and a rural health centre. Dr. Ramanathan further said that its plastic surgery division had specialised in treatment of lymphoedema and filariasis. The hospital had a blood bank and a Raja Muthiah Blood Donors Club to create awareness among the students and the people about the significance of blood donation. It was also issuing identity cards and certificate of appreciation to the blood donors, he added.

            N. Chidambaram, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, said that yoga therapy would also be introduced in the hospital. The year-long Silver Jubilee celebrations would culminate on Wednesday. S. Viswanathan, Medical Superintendent, said that in recognition of the academic achievements the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, had awarded FRCS to Dr. Ramanathan and himself, and, FRCP to Dr. Chidambaram.

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