Hospital for Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Arthritis, Accident-Trauma, (HOSMAT), along with the Arthritis and Joint Replacement Centre, HOSMAT Neuro Centre, HOSMAT Spine Centre and Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine Centre, is the first comprehensive hospital in India specialising in orthopaedics, sports medicine, arthritis, accident, trauma and neurosciences and is the largest speciality hospital of its kind in Asia. Dr Thomas A Chandy, Director & Chief of Orthopaedics, HOSMAT Hospital speaks to Vyas Sivanand about the hospital’s speciality, charity and his passion for jazz.
■ HOSMAT has built a reputation for itself as one of the finest speciality hospital in this part of the world. What makes it stand apart?
In the past 20 years, HOSMAT has gained a reputation of being one of the best hospitals in orthopaedics and its sub-specialities such as joint replacement, arthroscopy, children’s ortho, hand, spine, arthritis, Ilizarov, sports medicine and reconstructive surgery. It is now on the verge of getting NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) & JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation. Rated as one of the six best hospitals for Orthopaedics in India, the hospitals has 35 orthopaedic surgeons, the largest number in India of whom the majority are full time at HOSMAT and others are qualified visiting surgeons. There are also three spine and neuro surgeons, and other consultant specialists from various departments like MRI & Radiology, anaesthesia, neurology and neurosciences, plastic and reconstructive surgery, pulmonary, cardiac, facio maxillary and dental, rheumatology, pathology, and G I Endoscopy.
HOSMAT is the first hospital in India to do Patello Femoral Replacement (Knee cap bone) and the first to do a third generation unicondylar replacement (one side of the knee only and not the entire knee). It is also the first hospital in the country to have two MRIs. One is an ultra sophisticated machine while the other is a high resolution open MRI machine which is non-claustrophobic.
■ What are the other unique features in terms of facilities?
Currently, the hospital has 400 beds out of which 50 beds are for long term care while the rest 350 are for acute care. We have 12 operation theaters (OTs) with five OTs with lamina floor for infection free surgery. HOSMAT has the lowest infection rate for joint replacement at 0.8 per cent while the country’s average is about 5-8 per cent. Even the US has an infection rate of 1-2 per cent.
■ Being one of the most renowned Orthopaedic surgeon in the world, do you have a track on the number of surgeries conducted by you?
I have conducted almost about 12,000 joint replacement surgeries in the US, and at HOSMAT, an average of 600 to 700 replacements per year. I have conducted over 7000 Arthroscopic surgeries of the knee and shoulder for ligament damage cartilage tears and knee cap bone pain. I think, over the last 20 years, we have crossed over a million patients which is about 11 per cent of the population of Bangalore.
■ You also have an educational trust. What are the main courses provided here?
We have HOSMAT Educational Institute where courses for nursing, physiotherapy, radiography, OT Technician, and Medical Lab Technician are provided. We started the institute in 1997 and even provide DNB in Orthopaedics and Anaesthesia. We also provide fellowships in joint replacement and Arthroscopy/Sports medicine which is for a duration of six months. We offer four fellowships which is unique to India, all sponsored by MNCs. We will be shifting the institution to the outskirts of the city pretty soon.
■ What are your main focus areas in terms of patient care?
We are focussing a lot on long term medical care, day care as well as home medical care.
■ How much thrust is given to social responsibility by HOSMAT?
We have four Charitable trusts: Accident Trauma Poor Patients Foundation, Handicapped and Crippled Foundation, Arthritis Foundation India and Poor Persons Foundation where we provide treatment with a discount or free, but we never refuse a patient. We also use music to generate money for these foundations. My hobby is music instrument collection and I have a collection of about 275 instruments from across the world. I am a jazz vocalist also. I have my own band called Jazz Revival Band. We had few events and the money collected is used for the foundation.
