Surely one would recognize the contribution of these brilliant doctors: the pioneer of reconstructive micro plastic surgery R Venkataswamy; one considered the father of gastroenterology Madanagopalan; C T surgeon Solomon Victor; brain researcher V S Ramachandran; liver transplant specialist Md Reela; radiologist I R Francis; founder, Apollo Hospitals P C Reddy. The list is long.

These are the products of the Stanley Medical College(SMC) and Hospital, established as the second leading medical college in the then Madras Presidency in 1938 as an adjunct to the government Stanley Hospital.

Dr J Mohanasundaram, Dean, SMC, said that this premier hospital serves a population of over 10 lakh concentrated in north Chennai. The three other hospitals - the RSRN Hospital (for obstetrics and gynecology), Thoracic Medical Hospital, Tambaram (a centre of excellence for HIV care) and the SMH that offers OP and IP services – cater to the needs of the industrial northern part of the metro.

First liver transplant...

Stanley Hospital and College have earned a reputation for the excellent work done in areas such as surgical gastroenterology (GE) and micro hand surgery. Dr S Surendren, senior consultant and gastro intestinal surgeon, referred to the pioneering work done by Stanley in the treatment of diseases relating to the esophagus, liver and pancreas. Stanley specialised in the treatment of cancer of esophagus. The hospital performed the first cadaver liver transplant in South India under the lead of Prof R P Shanmugam. It excelled in GE under the renowned professor Madanagopalan. Dr Surendren pointed to the gastro-intestinal bleed centre set up a decade ago that contributed to a spectacular decline in deaths caused due to blood vomiting. He said that the death rate due to esophagus cancer had been reduced from over 30 per cent to 4 per cent and due to liver and pancreatic diseases from around 20 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

Stanley Hospital is also renowned for the rehabilitation of severed hand through plastic micro surgery. Located in the major industrial belt, the hospital receives a good number of victims suffering hand injuries. Prof R Venkataswamy pioneered micro hand surgery in this part of the country. The Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Hand was set up in 1974.

Reconstructing severed hands...

Dr R Krishnamurthy, Professor-Plastics, Hand Reconstructive Micro Surgeon, referred to the complexities involved in reconstructing a severed hand: “what makes the reconstruction difficult is the size of the blood vessel which can be as small as one mm in dia. The broken blood vessels of the severed part need to be coupled with the corresponding blood vessels of the rest of the hand. This delicate and intricate surgery makes use of an interphase microscope to enlarge the picture. This technique requires the combined use of magnification, illumination and technical precision,” he said. Such surgeries involving intricate skill and dexterity often extend to seven hours and more.

Dean Mohanasundaram also pointed to the work done by Stanley in nephrology. The hospital performs over 40 renal transplants a year, from kidneys donated by relatives of patients.