The Power Couple : Birlas
The husband-wife duo of Mr. and Mrs. Birla, Over the last three decades, have extended their exemplary contributions towards the health of Thane, thanks to their HITECH urology and Birla Diagnostic centre located in the heart of the city. It all started when a man from Jalgaon and a woman from Latur decided to come closer to the city of dreams.
Dr. Vivek Birla says, “Initially my first choice was to become an engineer, but medicine happened to me by chance. The day I entered the medicine field I wanted to become a surgeon. Though to begin with I wanted to get into pediatric surgery, but my teachers in medical college suggested me to take up Urology.Surgery was something that gave me that adrenaline rush.” Dr. Manjushree Birla adds, “My father was a lawyer, so everybody in my family wanted me to follow his footsteps and join the legal field. However, instead of the black coat, I was more attracted to the white apron. I decided to become a doctor. I wanted to get into pediatrics but given that I would have to strike a balance between home and work, I opted for radiology. My decision to become a radiologist garnered a lot of skepticism as it was known that Xrays can affect a woman’s health. Rubbing off all the skepticism, I was determined to become a radiologist as I realized the field had a lot of potential.”
Dr. Vivek is a first generation doctor. He recalls, “I was born and brought up in Jalgaon& for medical education came to Mumbai. After completing MCH in Urology,I came to Thane .I had no relatives in the city but I had a friend, who allowed me to share his consulting room.My friend, who was well-versed with the city, told me that there were not many urologists in Thane and advised me to start practice. Taking his advice, I started my own practice here. I was the only M Ch in urology ,qualified doctor in the city. That is when I realized the growing city of Thane needs Urologist ,so I settled here.”
Starting his own practice was not a cake walk as there were many hurdles in the way. Dr. Vivek mentions, “Manjushree and I applied for a loan to buy medical equipment. However our loan requests were rejected on the grounds of us being young and having no existing medical set up. After six months, finally a bank agreed to give us a loan. With that Manjushree bought a sonography machine and started her practice at Birla diagnostic center. Dr. Manjushree adds, “After completing my education from Aurangabad, I used to visit private sonography clinics to get more practical experience. Meanwhile, I got selected to work at Jaslok Hospital and in those two and half years at Jaslok, I learnt a lot. I was attached to many hospitals, before starting my own practice. Luckily female Sonologists were in dearth back then, so I got a kind of first mover advantage. I started Birla Diagnostic Centre in 1996.”
Dr. Vivek states, “Between 1994 and 2001, I used to visit several hospitals and perform kidney stones& prostate operations with endoscopic equipments, which allowed patients to get back home early. During the weekdays, I served in Thane and on the weekends, I used to go to jalgaon for performing specialised operations. In 2002, after years of juggling between Thane and Jalgaon, I finally settled with my own hospital here. Since I had the experience of working in different hospitals, I was aware of the possible shortcomings in setting up my own hospital. I strived hard to overcome these shortcomings. One of the principles that I followed from the start was to never concentrate on the number of beds, rather focus on the spacious waiting area. Manjushree has been instrumental in starting HITECH Urology center and she has played a pivotal part in the success of our urology centre.”
The then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh inaugurated Dr. Birla’s HITECH urology hospital. Right from day one, state of the art facilities such as ESWL (noninvasive method of treating kidney stones) RIRS, Laser and other latest urology technology was made available at the center. Dr. Vivek explains, “Urology is a technological field& rapidly advancing. Technology has played a vital role in diagnosis and treatment over a period of time. When I was studying in a medical college,performing operations ,using endoscopic cameras was rare.Gradually endoscopes& camera became available and I made sure that I embraced the latest advancements to keep up with the pace.” Dr. Vivek adds, “Kidney stones are becoming very common these days. Raigad, Thane are having large number of kidney stone patients. Earlier there were patients who used to come to us with big stones. But now due to awareness, we get cases where the size of the stone is relatively smaller. Apart from kidney stones, we offer treatments for prostate diseases, kidney cancer, male infertility, impotency and all kinds of urine related problems in all age groups.The cases of kidney cancer have been rising in recent times due to lifestyle changes and pollution. People having a low water intake and non-vegetarian diet are more vulnerable to kidney stones.”
On the other hand, Dr. Manjushree elucidates, “Radiology is all instrument based. There are now high resolution sonography machines, having color Doppler facilities, which helps to get a clear view of the miniscule things inside the body. In case of pregnant women, through the advanced sonography machines, the baby’s brain ,eyes, tongue, nose, stomach, etc. can be seen clearly, in the womb. Disorders like Down’s syndrome can also be detected in the early stages of pregnancy. Birla diagnostic center offers various specialised X ray & pathology facilities. Apart from these, Dr manjushree performs antenatal testing to pick up defects in foetuses by amniocentesis. She performs organ biopsies for early diagnosis of various diseases.In radiology, the (Wo)man behind the machine plays a big role.”
Over the years, Dr. Manjushree and Dr. Vivek encountered many challenging cases. Dr. Manjushree avers, “It is not easy to detect early & small cancers in the body. But with use of advanced sonography machines , we have been able to diagnose cancers at very early & curable stage. It is a challenging task to scan patients for various body complaints & diagnose them with specific problems & diseases. Dr. Vivek adds, “We had one lady from Kalwa coming to us. She was operated for uterus removal in mumbai and during that operation there was a hole developed in her urinary tract. Due to that she would leak urine in her clothes all the time.Also her urine generated a foul smell. She underwent three operations to solve this problem but to no avail. She came to us. I investigated her case properly and created a new urinary tract for her, which made her dry & was able to live normally in society. There was another case of a girl, who by birth had no vagina. We constructed a new vagina for her. After that she got married and when she and her husband visited a doctor, that doctor actually called me to confirm whether that was a natural vagina or a constructed one. Apart from these, we have performed several sex change operations, which are very challenging.”
Dr. Vivek Birla & Dr. Manjushree Birla
With their tremendous contributions in the field of urology and radiology, there is seldom any doubt that Dr. Vivek Birla and Dr. Manjushree Birla are a power couple. Counselling, effective communication and transparency are some of the key attributes associated with the Birlas, who have patients from across India and abroad coming to them. Performing 1000surgeries on an average in a year and seeing 60-70 OPD patients everyday, the husband-wife duo, with their immaculate medical acumen and prowess are helping Thane to lead a healthy and better life.
Before signing off, Dr. Vivek Birla gives a simple message to everyone. He says, “If you are ill, do not visit Dr. Google first. Rather visit an actual doctor, who will be able to solve your problem. Google can throw up certain things which will increase your fear and give you unnecessary stress. Google and other social media platforms do not understand that every person is different. A doctor, who is well-educated and experienced understands this and treats different patients differently. Believe in your doctor and give him/her the necessary freedom to treat you better.”
One stop solution to Urological problems!
Dr. Vivek Birla’s Hitech Urology Centre was the first one in Thane to start ESWL treatment (Non-invasive treatment for stones) on a Dornier Lithotripter machine in 2002. This machine works well to break kidney stones smaller than 1.5 cm with good kidney function and treatment is without anaesthesia or hospitalisation.
Dr. Vivek performs retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) with the use of a laser and this procedure has yielded excellent results, to make patients stone free. From treating a nine month old baby for a urinary birth defect to treating a 105 year old for prostate cancer, Hitech Urology Centre is capable of handling all kinds of kidney problems for all age groups.
“At Hitech Urology Centre we have qualified and experienced staff to take care of patients post their operation which will help them to recover fast. We have cured many patients of urinary cancer by offering them early diagnosis and proper planning of surgical treatment”, says Dr. Vivek.
In addition to Hitech Urology Centre, there is Birla Diagnostic Centre under the umbrella of Dr. Birlas. Under the able aegis of Dr. Manjushree Birla, Birla Diagnostic Center provides comprehensive sonography imaging services of all body parts, on hi-tech and high resolution machines. Dr. (Mrs.) Manjushree Birla is expert in 2D/3D/4D sonography of all body organs and even evaluating details of an unborn baby in a mother’s womb. Dr. Birla performs sonography-guided FNAC and biopsies of various organs to know exact pathological diagnosis.
Additionally, the Center has excellent facilities for color Doppler to know blood vessels details. Dr. Manjushree has performed over a lakh abdominal sonographies and has helped in diagnosis of liver, kidney, appendix and other organ problems, so that they can be treated appropriately by clinicians.
It is a government approved center for detection of genetic birth defects by amniocentesis and chorionic villus biopsies.
It also houses digital X-ray facilities for excellent detailing and is famous for good quality X-rays. Various X-ray based procedures like IVP (for kidney stones), Barium procedures (for intestines), HSG (for infertility), etc. are performed routinely, helping early diagnosis of problems.
Dr. Manjushree Birla believes in “excellence with passion coupled with human touch”.
- Facilities at HITECH Urology Center…
* All types of kidney related& urology ailments treatment .
* Laser treatment for prostate
* Laser & endoscopic treatment for urinary stones
* Pediatrics urological operations
* Urolgical cancer surgeries
* Treatment of male infertility & impotency
* ESWL treatment for stones
- Facilities at Birla Diagnostic Center…
*All types of sonography imaging
*Color Doppler,3 D and 4D sonography with state of art high resolution sonography machines
*Pregnancy related sonography, for detail structural evaluation of fetus
*Sonography guided Amniocentesis, organ Biopsies
*Digital X-rays & procedures like IVP, Barium tests
*Infertility related tests in females& males
*All types of X-rays ,dental X-ray s, blood tests( pathology)
*ECG& 2 D Echocardiography done by qualified cardiologist.
*Health checkup facility.
Hi tech urology centre : 1st Floor, Landmark Arcade, Louiswadi Highway Service Road, Nitin Co Junction, Thane
+91 93215 21676
Birla diagnostic centre : Ground Floor, Tara Niwas, Baji Prabhu Deshpande Marg, near Bramhan Vidyalaya, 3 Petrol Pump area Thane west | +91 85910 45300
Read E Magazine : Dr. Vivek Birla & Dr. Manjushree Birla – Nov 21
