American Neurosurgeon's visit to Dr Krishnakumar , Spine Division of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences

---

UPDATE June 2016- Dr Krishnakumar joins VPS Lakeshore Hospital,Cochin,Kerala,India as consultant spine surgeon

A VSP Opportunity in Kerala

Dr. Ripul Panchal (left) and Dr. KrishnaKumar

IASA had arranged for me to visit Dr. Krishna Kumar, an orthopedic spine surgeon, and my gracious host for three days. I arrived in Kochi, Kerala, Saturday evening, and felt as if I had landed in a new country with a different culture and language. Although I was born in India and had visited the country since immigrating to the United States, the culture and language was very different than what I had been accustomed to. I had the Sunday to explore the town, and with a hotel driver visited local tourist attractions such as the St. Francis church (Vasco Da Gama’s Tomb), Chinese fishing nets, the Jewish Synagogue, the Dutch Palace and the newest addition, the Kerala Folklore Theatre & Museum.

Monday morning, I arrived at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, a 1500-bed private hospital. Dr. Kumar, who I met for the first time that morning, gave me a brief office tour and we attended morning Grand round conference. I met the orthopedic chair, Dr.Chandrababu, and the rest of the faculty. One of the residents had prepared a talk on congenital scoliosis.

Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences

Next, Dr. Kumar gave me a tour of the hospital and rounded on his inpatients. I found this to be a much newer institution and equipped with the same machines.  I accompanied him into the O. The OR section was divided into the Neuro/Ortho section. I found the OR set up and flow similar to set up in United States. The staff was very welcoming. That evening Dr. Kumar invited me to have traditional Kerala dinner with them, and we had a wonderful time sharing our experiences in the field of spine, research interests, career goals and personal life. Next day, I observed Dr. Kumar perform a lumbar decompression case very meticulously and the traumatic deformity to follow. On my last day, I was asked to present a lecture on cervical deformity at the morning Grand rounds that was well received. Dr. Kumar shared his experience from his recent visit to the US and his strong interest in research.

The visit was an invaluable experience. I hope to continue collaborating with the physicians I met to further research and treatment of the underserved. IASA allowed me to meet new surgeons in India, and created an opportunity to not only see what other surgeons do, but also a chance to continue to work together, share ideas and conduct research at a much higher level to help spine patients.