Pune: Pain is a symptom which is extremely disturbing to any patient. It is the body’s mechanism to alert us to seek help for something that is not quite right with it.
Most patients who consult a doctor, do so because of PAIN. On many occasions ,it is pain which needs to be addressed more than the actual disease.
Sometimes the disease is incurable, as is the case with advanced cancers, however there is evidence to believe that adequate pain relief has a very positive impact on the Health Related Quality of Life of a patient. Post-operatively, it is an established fact , that if there is good pain relief, the recovery is faster.
All over the world there is a new Super-specialty Science called Pain Management.
So far Pune did not have a structured pain department, under a qualified Pain Management consultant. Pain services were fragmented and offered by various people like physicians, surgeons, anesthetists and the like. They were all competent and managed pain, but there are several situations where there is value in seeing a consultant specially qualified in Pain Management. Jehangir Hospital therefore decided to launch its one of a kind Pain Management Department in Pune. The department is headed by Dr Madhuri Lokapur, who is one of the most experienced and respected Pain Management Consultants in the country.
Typical situations where Pain Management is necessary, are chronic back pain, sciatica, Intractable Headache, neck and shoulder pain, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Post-operative pain extending beyond 24 hours after surgery, Cancer pain and Herpetic Neuralgia (associated with Herpes Zoster).Any situation where your regular doctor cannot resolve your pain, is a reason to consult a Pain Management Consultant.
At the Pain Clinic in Jehangir Hospital, state of the art therapies are employed to offer pain relief to patients. Radiofrequency ablations, CT guided neurolysis, Image guided nerve blocks, innovative medicines are used as per need of individual .
In most cases back pain surgery can be avoided by judicious use of pain therapies. It is also required in case of failed back surgeries. Pain management at Jehangir Hospital, also involves a multi-disciplinary approach, where physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, neurologists and others work in tandem to provide comprehensive pain relief strategies.
The opening of the Pain Clinic was preceded by a CME at IMA hall where senior consultants discussed the role of Pain Management, in patient care.200 General Practitioners and Consultants attended the Continuing Medical Education session and participated in the discussion .Dr Laxmi Koylaguntha, Professor of Pain Management at the world famous MD Anderson institute at Dallas in USA, was an invited faculty at the CME.
Professor Laxmi Koyalaguntha, inaugurated the Pain Clinic at Jehangir Hospital Speaking at the occasion , she said that this was a great initiative to develop the specialty in an Indian hospital, and will benefit scores of patients.
Dr Madhuri Lokapur, Head of Department of Pain Management at Jehangir Hospital, said this center would provide state-of-the-art, comprehensive Pain Management Services under one roof.
Dr Sujata Malik, Director Medical Strategy and Development and services, said the vision is to establish a Centre of Excellence for Pain Management, where Academic activities and research in the field ,would be promoted in collaboration with distinguished institutes like MD Anderson.
Sir Cowasji Jehangir, Chairman of Jehangir Hospital, who was present on the occasion, said that Jehangir Hospital is known for promoting pioneering services, and provide new dimensions to healthcare delivery in Pune.
