‘Honey heals wounds faster than betadine’
Dr Pillai uses a locally-manufactured ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt to drain out fluid from the brain.
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Dr
Pillai uses a locally-manufactured ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt to
drain out fluid from the brain. "Traditional shunts made abroad are 10
times costlier — the ones we use cost Rs 3,000 per unit," says Pillai.
In dealing with severe head injuries and disease of the nervous system, it is crucial that the pressure inside the brain be measured accurately. An intra-cranial catheter is inserted and the reading taken on a monitor. The catheter usually costs Rs 30,000 and the meter is worth about Rs 10 lakh.
Pillai instead inserts a simple sterilized rubber tube, filled with water, inside the brain and then connects it to any pressure monitor in the OT. "The tube costs just a few rupees. Whenever there is an effective local option, which has been documented and proven to be safe, we try to use it," adds Dr Pillai.
In 2012, surgeons at AIIMS published a paper in the Indian Journal of Surgery, which showed that using honey (procured from beehives on neem trees) healed wounds better and faster than povidone-iodine (betadine), standard ointment used in such cases. Dr Anurag Srivastava, head of surgery at AIIMS, says that there was significant decrease in the surface area of the wound and pain in the group, where honey was used as wound dressing.
"As long as you follow basic principles of sterilization and operative technique, and provide good post-op clinical care, it is safe to use low-cost substitutes," says Dr Satish Shukla, an onco-surgeon based in Indore and president of ASI. He further points out that although the US FDA doesn't allow the reuse of catheters in cardiac and renal surgeries, surgeons in India safely recycle them for cost-effectiveness.
In 2003, the Indian Journal of Surgery published a paper by Dr Ravindranath Tongaonkar on the use of the mosquito net in treating adult groin hernia. Traditionally, a polypropylene mesh is used to fix the ruptured tissue but it is an expensive material. So Dr Tongaonkar replaced it with mosquito net cloth. At the time, a meter of mosquito net cloth cost Rs 40 while the imported surgical mesh cost Rs 9,430 for a 30 cm x 30 cm patch. Dr Tongaonkar has used the mosquito net mesh in more than 500 hernia operations.
Similarly, instruments used in a range of expensive cosmetic procedures can be replaced with common household items once sterilized properly. Dr Shibu Thomas, a senior cosmetic surgeon who runs the Inceptor cosmetic surgery and skin institute in Mumbai, uses 24-inch household electric ties (used to hold wires together) as a substitute for surgical tourniquet to put compression at the base of the breast during breast reduction surgery.
While surgical tourniquets are imported from the US and cost Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, a pack of electric ties comes for Rs 500. He also uses a stainless steel kitchen strainer(Rs 350) to filter fat harvested for grafting instead. The medical version of the strainer can cost up to Rs 12,000.
"Most conventional surgical devices, in keeping with the US standards, are disposable. Given the cost of these devices they simply do not fit the Indian business model," says Dr Thomas. However, he also cautions that such 'jugaad' should never be used as implants because that could lead to serious complications.
In dealing with severe head injuries and disease of the nervous system, it is crucial that the pressure inside the brain be measured accurately. An intra-cranial catheter is inserted and the reading taken on a monitor. The catheter usually costs Rs 30,000 and the meter is worth about Rs 10 lakh.
Pillai instead inserts a simple sterilized rubber tube, filled with water, inside the brain and then connects it to any pressure monitor in the OT. "The tube costs just a few rupees. Whenever there is an effective local option, which has been documented and proven to be safe, we try to use it," adds Dr Pillai.
In 2012, surgeons at AIIMS published a paper in the Indian Journal of Surgery, which showed that using honey (procured from beehives on neem trees) healed wounds better and faster than povidone-iodine (betadine), standard ointment used in such cases. Dr Anurag Srivastava, head of surgery at AIIMS, says that there was significant decrease in the surface area of the wound and pain in the group, where honey was used as wound dressing.
"As long as you follow basic principles of sterilization and operative technique, and provide good post-op clinical care, it is safe to use low-cost substitutes," says Dr Satish Shukla, an onco-surgeon based in Indore and president of ASI. He further points out that although the US FDA doesn't allow the reuse of catheters in cardiac and renal surgeries, surgeons in India safely recycle them for cost-effectiveness.
In 2003, the Indian Journal of Surgery published a paper by Dr Ravindranath Tongaonkar on the use of the mosquito net in treating adult groin hernia. Traditionally, a polypropylene mesh is used to fix the ruptured tissue but it is an expensive material. So Dr Tongaonkar replaced it with mosquito net cloth. At the time, a meter of mosquito net cloth cost Rs 40 while the imported surgical mesh cost Rs 9,430 for a 30 cm x 30 cm patch. Dr Tongaonkar has used the mosquito net mesh in more than 500 hernia operations.
Similarly, instruments used in a range of expensive cosmetic procedures can be replaced with common household items once sterilized properly. Dr Shibu Thomas, a senior cosmetic surgeon who runs the Inceptor cosmetic surgery and skin institute in Mumbai, uses 24-inch household electric ties (used to hold wires together) as a substitute for surgical tourniquet to put compression at the base of the breast during breast reduction surgery.
While surgical tourniquets are imported from the US and cost Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, a pack of electric ties comes for Rs 500. He also uses a stainless steel kitchen strainer(Rs 350) to filter fat harvested for grafting instead. The medical version of the strainer can cost up to Rs 12,000.
"Most conventional surgical devices, in keeping with the US standards, are disposable. Given the cost of these devices they simply do not fit the Indian business model," says Dr Thomas. However, he also cautions that such 'jugaad' should never be used as implants because that could lead to serious complications.
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The Andrews Sisters - Money(not honey) is the Root of all Evil (sec edit)
The Andrews Sisters - Money is the Root of all Evil (sec edit), a sec riddim.- HD
