Pune Hospital
and Research Centre (with its specialist hernia repair department) is one of
more than 250 bed hospitals in the city of Pune
in India,
a country of more than 1,000,000,000 people.
Pune itself is located one hundred and sixty kilometers (one hundred
miles) south east of Mumbai (Bombay) in the
State of Maharashtra.
With its numerous educational and research institutes, Pune
is often called the “Oxford of India” and is considered the cultural capital of
the State of Maharashtra.
The city has a large automobile manufacturing industry and is home to many
software and IT companies and has a population of approximately five million.
You can plan to
arrive in Pune at any time. Make sure that you bring your regular clothes, money, passport with visa endorsement and personal items, just as you would normally do for tours and
travel. You can Google “Pune weather” for an overview of seasonal changes in
temperature and rainfall. If you are not
accustomed to high summer temperatures you may wish to avoid the hottest months
of March, April and May.
The total price that you pay for our complete surgery and accommodation package
is US $ 2000/- for a large private room (Click here:- more comfortable with showers, Freeze, sofa set
etc.) and US $ 1500/- for a standard private room (without showers, Freeze,
sofa set etc.). (There is a small additional charge of US $ 100 for drugs in
O.T.). This package price includes your hospital room charges, surgery fees,
theatre fees, anesthetist fees etc. All your meals (breakfast, lunch, and
dinner each day) are also included in the package price. If you wish to be
accompanied by a partner or friend, they can share your private room at no
additional cost, or they may choose to have their own private room near you for
an additional US $ 80-100 per day (Includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner each
day). Any fluctuations below 40 in the currency exchange rate will be adjusted
accordingly at the time of payment. The package is for a normal stay of 3 days.
You need to send only a US $ 500/-
nonrefundable advance fee for booking, the remainder to be paid on arrival
in cash. Good hotels with hot and cold water and showers are available near
hospital at the rate of US $ 50- 60 per day (No meals, only breakfast).
The
packages prices above are not applicable to those patients who may carry a
higher risk of surgery due to associated medical conditions or recurrent hernia
or hernia complications like obstructed hernia, or obesity etc. Any additional
costs for such patients can be arrived at after discussing your medical history
with Professor Desarda. Should you wish to stay in your hospital room for more
than three days; the accommodation fee (including meals) will be US$120 per day
for a large private room and US$100 per day for a standard private room,
excluding the cost of any drugs and any investigations that may be required in
the wards. Any additional surgery like excision of a lipoma of the
cord or varicocoele, if required during hernia repair surgery, will be charged
extra at the rate of 200 US $ per procedure.
If you wish to avoid the well
documented chronic complications so often associated with the use of mesh for
inguinal hernia repairs, then you can
start immediately by having the basic tests (below) done in your own country to
check if you are well enough to undergo the hernia repair surgical procedure. If you have not already done so, Google “hernia
mesh complications” or read more than 800 posts at this link http://www.topix.com/forum/city/fort-worth-tx/TE4DF83JKBNACOFNO
The pre-operative tests required
are:
1. Hemogram (Blood test for
hemoglobin estimation and blood cell count)
2. A Routine urine sample test
3. Blood/ Serum Sugar level
(Fasting and Post Prandial i.e. before
and after lunch)
4. Blood Urea levels (the blood urea test indicates your kidney function)
5. Hepatitis B test
(Test for Australia
Antigen)
6. Test for HIV (Auto immune
disease-AIDS test)
7. Chest X-Ray report.
8. Ultrasound examination of
abdomen for inguinal hernia.
Send these reports along with
your other information such as
1. Height
2. Weight
3. Blood pressure
4. Any medical treatment you are
currently undergoing.
5. Details of your past history
of major illness or hospitalization.
These pre-operative tests, carried out in your own country, will
save your time and money in being able to identify and treat conditions like
diabetes, hypertension etc. before you arrive in India and you can thus avoid a more
lengthy stay that may be required in treating or stabilizing such conditions
before we can post you for your hernia surgery.
The operative procedure is very simple and is normally done
with local/spinal anesthetic. Our
non-mesh repair uses a strong muscle very close to the hernia site. A strip is
repositioned from a nearby muscle called the external oblique aponeurosis. (A
hernia occurs because the tissues and muscles behind the hernia become weak.)
This strong strip of muscle is sutured onto the weak area so that the weak area
receives a new support of natural muscle tissue (instead of an artificial
material like synthetic mesh). Moreover, the weakened muscles gain additional
strength from this procedure, and the failure and recurrence rate in this
operation is virtually zero. For technical details of the operative procedure,
please click on the ‘article’ section of our web pages. We will be pleased to
reply to any specific queries you may have about the procedure.
SCHEDULE FOR SURGERY:
Day 1: Admission and check up.
Day 2: Operation
Day 3: You are discharged to go home
The
Following information will help guide you to Pune from your country.
1. Your flight will bring you to Mumbai (Bombay) a very large international city on the west coast
of India.
Mumbai (Bombay) Airport is also called Sahar International
Airport. After passing
through the normal airport arrival procedures, go to the airport Enquiry
Counter and ask about the regular luxury air-conditioned coach services from Mumbai Airport
to Pune. These buses are available immediately outside the waiting lounge of
the airport. Alternately, you can hire a taxi from the airport to take you from
Mumbai to Pune. Information about the bus and taxi charges is readily available
at the enquiry counter. The current luxury coach charges from Mumbai airport to
Pune are approximately 400-600 Indian Rupees (INR) equivalents to US$10-15. The
usual toilet and refreshment facilities are available at the airport, and safe drinking mineral water bottles are always
available at the airport, bus stations, railway stations and shops.
2. If possible, give us a telephone call on our
mobile number of 9373322178 from Mumbai airport, so that we know about your
arrival, and can help you in case of any difficulties. Please keep a note of
this telephone number in your diary.
3. The
distance from Mumbai to Pune is 100 miles (160 kms). The bus or taxi will take about 3-4 hours to
reach Pune. Mumbai to Pune flights are
available, but the bus or taxi is just as fast in overall time and much
cheaper. The bus or taxi will make one stop in the middle of the journey for
passengers to refresh or have snacks at a highway restaurant similar to
MacDonald's.
4. Your
transport will normally drop you off in Pune at whatever address you
choose. If you are coming direct to the
hospital, please note our address in your diary and give instructions to the
driver to drop you at our hospital address.
ADDRESS:
Poona Hospital & Research Centre
27, Navi Peth (Lal Bahaddur
Shastri Road)
Pune-411 030
Near Alka cinema/movie theatre
This hospital is well known to everyone in
Pune. If the bus or taxi drops you near the railway or bus station in the city
in Pune (in spite of your instructions) then don't worry, there are numerous
local taxis available at the bus or railway station to take you to our hospital
address within 15 to 20 minutes. If possible, contact us again from any
telephone booth as soon as you arrive in Pune.
5. Once you reach Poona Hospital,
please contact the medical officer in the casualty department, which is close
to the main entrance of the hospital. The watchman on the entrance will also be
happy to give you directions. We keep the duty medical officer informed about
your admission, and he will be made aware of your arrival as soon as you pass
this information to us. He also informs us once the admission formality is
completed, and you will then be taken to your room as chosen in your package.
Our assistant will also attend to your immediate needs in the ward, and further
procedure starts as per your schedule. Professor Desarda will visit you for a
check up as soon as his time schedule permits, or during his evening rounds. If
possible, all check ups are done on the same day, and the operation is planned
on the next day.
6. Payments: Although international Visa enabled credit cards can be used for
withdrawing money at ATM centers in Pune, for your convenience we advise you to
keep about US$1500-2000 in cash (depending on your room choice) for payment of
your package charges. We then make arrangements to have your US currency
exchanged to Indian currency to cover all your package expenses like food,
stay, medicines, operation, anesthesia etc for 3 days. Please note that the large
private room, or private room package,
accommodates an accompanying person in your room at no extra cost as far as
his/her stay is concerned. You may wish to transfer US$ funds
in advance to avoid carrying large amounts of cash. If so, please advice we and
we will provide the necessary account details to you.
7. Return journey: We can assist you in
arranging the booking of your return journey through travel agents should
you require such assistance.
Do not hesitate to write or email us if you
need more information or assistance
NOTE: Patients from India can contact us by telephone
or email for appointments, examination, charges etc.
PA to Prof. Desarda
BUY A CD FOR $ 20
(Including postage)
(See the actual repair operation performed
on direct, indirect & recurrent inguinal hernias on CD for only $20
including postage.)
EMAIL: desarda@gmail.com or desarda@hotmail.com
(Updated on 13.7.2008)
