Bhanushalis : Lifeline for Thanekars
Dr. Bhanushali Hospital is the third oldest hospital in Thane and has treated lakhs of patients over the last 45 years. Started in 1975 by Dr. H.S. Bhanushali, the hospital has been an epitome of excellence in healthcare and has the reputation of offering treatments at affordable rates. Taking the legacy forward is his son Dr. Amol Bhanushali, Consultant Thoracic & Minimal Access Surgeon, Medical Director of Dr. Bhanushali Hospital & Center for Lung Surgery and Trustee of Kaushalya Hospital.
Dr. Amol says, “I was always inspired by my doctor parents and other doctors in the family for the kind of work they were doing. I vividly remember that I used to be good at Computers during my school days, so may be a career in computer engineering was on the cards. My parents were aware of this and they never made me feel obligated to join their field. But over the years, there was a paradigm shift in my liking, and I developed keen interest in medicine. I guess I was destined to become a doctor and carry the strong legacy established by my parents forward.”
While doing his M.S. in General Surgery, Dr. Amol realized that there were very few surgeons, who specialized in chest (thoracic) surgery. “I watched my father perform lung surgeries in our hospital right from my M.B.B.S. days. He also used to take me along to see these operations at the Municipal TB Hospital, Sewri. In my college too, I assisted few lung surgeries. I feel all these things developed my liking towards thoracic surgery as a career”, he states.
Dr. Amol further adds, “Thoracic surgery deals with every organ in the chest except the heart, mainly lungs. We can treat plethora of conditions like Lung Tuberculosis, Lung Cancer, cancer of the food pipe, air or pus collection around lung and many more. Typically, patients affected with TB are from lower strata of society, so many a times they can’t afford right treatment at the right time. The kind of surgeries we perform on them are extremely challenging as by the time they reach us, the disease is advanced or complicated, thus making it more difficult. Also, there’s always a risk involved in treating an infective disease which could be easily transmitted.”
Dr. Amol, has performed over 700 thoracic surgeries, and majority of them have been done by the Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) technique. He stresses on the importance of using advanced technology. “For many decades, lung surgery is being done via an 8-10-inch-long incision. This Open surgery approach though effective causes a lot of post-operative discomfort, pain, prolonged hospital stays and a very big scar. VATS is a minimally invasive technique in which the entire surgery is done using a small camera attached to a scope, along with specially designed instruments which are inserted through 3 to 4 tiny (1 cm) incisions in the chest wall,” he elucidates.
Majority of the thoracic surgeries that Dr. Amol has performed have been done by the Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) technique. He stresses on the importance of using latest technology. “For many decades, lung surgery is being done via an 8-10-inch-long incision. This Open surgery approach though effective causes a lot of discomfort, pain, prolonged hospital stay and a very big scar. VATS is a minimally invasive technique in which the entire surgery is done using a small camera attached to a scope, along with specially designed instruments which are inserted through 3 to 4 tiny (1 cm) incisions in the chest wall,” he elucidates.
Speaking about the benefits of VATS, he explains, “Since VATS is done via small incisions, the patient is very comfortable with much lesser pain. He can go home in 3-4 days and get back to his routine within few weeks, as against months if done by conventional approach. The patient has negligible scars as compared to the long scar of Open Surgery. Going a step ahead, we have also started performing Uniportal VATS, wherein the scope and instruments are all inserted through a single 3 cm long incision, thereby further speeding up recovery.
India is infamous for housing the most number of TB patients in the world. It also has the highest number of TB deaths across the globe. “In our society, there is a lack of awareness that TB can be cured by surgery. About 15-20% of TB patients cannot be cured without surgery. But for some reason they fail to visit a Thoracic Surgeon at the right time. TB is a bacterial disease and spreads easily among people with low immunity,” avers Dr. Amol. “Similar is the case with Lung Cancer, where only 10-15% of patients come to us at a stage where the disease can be operated upon and cured completely”
Apart from Dr. Bhanushali Hospital, Dr. Amol is the Trustee of Kaushalya Hospital, which was started in 2002. Last year, the Thane Municipal Corporation marked Kaushalya as a Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital. “It was initially challenging as we had to convince our staff to take up the fight. Right from training them to wear a PPE kit to providing them with food and accommodation, we had to manage everything in quick time. I feel the experience of treating lung patients helped since the COVID-19 virus also affects the same organ. Till date, our team at Kaushalya has treated nearly 5000 Covid positive patients. I feel happy to share that at our hospital we were successfully able to treat a 103-year old man,” he explicates.
Dr. Bhanushali Hospital and Kaushalya Hospital, which have visitors from other states and countries also, are known to make patients feel comfortable and at ease. They have a homely environment, well qualified and approachable staff, state of the art technology and affordable rates. The doctors there believe in quick and correct diagnosis and effective treatment of patients, thereby trying to make the patient feel better in no time. “It was my father’s dream to add a cardiac centre at Kaushalya Hospital and we feel happy to have realized his dream,” Dr. Amol exclaims.
He concludes, “I believe that it is important to be passionate about what one does and to strive hard to provide early diagnosis and correct treatment. Trust and empathy lay the foundation for a doctor’s success.” He continues to work by his father’s principle of “Patient First” and with his kind of determination and dedication there is not even an iota of doubt that just like his father, Dr. Amol Bhanushali will continue to make Thane proud.
- My mother, Manjushree Patil, had been suffering from MDR-TB and was on anti-TB drugs for six years. She took treatment from different doctors but there was no respite. Through word of mouth, we came to know about Dr. Amol Bhanushali. During our very first meeting with Dr. Bhanushali, he gave us detailed information about the disease and told us about the treatment. My mother’s left lung was completely destroyed by TB, and the other side was beginning to get affected too, so surgery was needed immediately. We were all very scared but Dr. Bhanushali and his team ensured that the surgery was successful and my mother got rid of TB and recovered completely. We are forever indebted to him for performing the surgery and bringing my mother out of the brink of death, thus giving her a new lease of life.
-Shweta Patil
- My wife, Varsha Garwa, was unwellfor nearly 10 years. She used to a keep coughing a lot and her cough used to contain blood at times. The blood went on increasing over the last few years. She had developed a fungal ball (aspergilloma) in a cavity in a part of her lung. She was treated by various doctors, however, nothing worked. By a stroke of luck, we came across Dr. Amol Bhanushali’s name. The treatment offered by Dr. Bhanushali was world class. He was very patient and polite. He explained to us everything about the disease and its treatment. He also instilled confidence in us that the surgery would be successful. The Center for Lung Surgery at Dr. Bhanushali Hospital has state-of-the-art infrastructure and has everything under one roof. My entire family is grateful to Dr. Bhanushali for treating my wife and ending her decade long misery.
-Rajesh Garwa
- My wife, Rekha Tejura, had been suffering from TB for the last couple of years. The infection was in her chest and abdomen both. During the treatment with anti-TB medicines, abdominal infection decreased but chest infection continued to persist. One of her lungs got covered with a very thick layer of pus and that side lung started to fail. At that time, we decided to go for a different doctor and heard about Dr. Amol Bhanushali. We visited him immediately and started treatment. From the very first visit itself, Dr. Bhanushali responded positively and supported us. The surgery was performed successfully using the latest technology available and my wife’s lung was saved. After the operation, she was fit and fine. I am thankful to Dr. Bhanushali for treating my wife.
-Hemang Tejura
Read E Magazine : Dr. Amol Bhanushali-Nov 21
