1.820.3345.33

Chhattisgarh lands on India’s medical tourism map

Though by a sheer chance, Chhattisgarh is now part of India’s multi-crore rupee medical tourism industry, as last week the Bhilai based Apollo BSR Hospital conducted the first ever surgery on a man who had come here for treatment from Ukraine.

Volodymgr Andrig Kravchenko, a 58-year-old techinical advisor, was operated upon on Thursday last for Sapheno Femoral (SF) junction incompetence with varicose vein on his left leg, an ailment that had severely affected his movement. Unable to get treatment in Ukraine, where healthcare is “extremely neglected” with acute shortage of facilities and medicines, Kravchenko chose Bhilai, as this was the only place in India where he knew someone.

Laparoscopic Surgeon, Dr Ashish Shrivastava, and Dr Gaurav Khatri conducted the surgery and the patient was discharged from the hospital after two days stay.

According to doctors, Kravchenko had been suffering from the ailment, which caused him severe pain in his left leg and made walking difficult, for quite sometime.

Since Kravchenko’s work involved long hours of standing, he was forced to take a break from his job. Though he had been undergoing treatment there, the ailment had persisted. Kravchenko finally decided to seek treatment at Bhilai on the advise of his friend settled here.

According to Dr Shrivastava “ligation and stripping” procedures, which involves both tying off and removal of a part of the large saphenous vein in the leg, were performed to treat Kravchenko. The “stripping” procedure is for removal of the affected vein ins performed through incisions in the groin area or behind the knee.

Dr Shrivastava said the “tying and the removal” procedures on the greater saphenous vein are done to reduce the pressure of blood flowing backwards through this large vein into the smaller veins that feed into it. He said after the surgery, the patient can assume his normal activities without any problems.

According to experts,”varicose veins are formed when impure blood collects and forms clots in the superficial veins in the legs, which carry impure blood to the heart. This in turn dilates the veins”.

Besides, the fact that varicose vein look awkward, they could pose serious medical problems if a blood clot slips into the deeper veins and enters the lungs or heart, say doctors.

While Kravchenko was not available for comments, hospital authorities claimed that the surgery was very “economical’, if compared to the costs of such procedures abroad.

Source & References

Jaiswal, A. 2014. Chhattisgarh lands on India’s medical tourism map. [online] 10 Feb. Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Chhattisgarh-lands-on-Indias-medical-tourism-map/articleshow/30173086.cms [Accessed: 11 Feb 2014].

Leave a Reply

Planning a Trip?

We have a pool of travel experts working in this industry for more than a decade. Consult to get started.

Book a Call Back