30 - 31 August 2003 - The AIMS Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery Institute presented the 1st Amrita Arthroscopic Surgery Course on the 30th and 31st of August, 2003. This is a comprehensive course aimed at both the beginner as well as the experienced Arthroscopic Surgeon. The thrust of the meeting was in improving the technical skills of Knee, Shoulder, Hip and Wrist Arthroscopic surgery and to give our patients better care.

We are privileged to have experienced Arthroscopic surgeons on our faculty - Dr. Peter Campbell and Dr. John O'Donnell from Australia along with Mr. David Grifiths and Mr. Ian DosRemedios from the UK. Along with the eminent faculty members from India, they had discussed the current trends and controversies in Arthroscopy. Two sessions were planned for Live Surgery demonstrations and the meeting had stimulating lectures with as many surgery video clippings as possible, followed by interactive debates.

Cochin (Kochi) is a delightfully cosmopolitan city that still retains its Old World charm that earned it the name "The Queen of the Arabian Sea". Cochin, where AIMS is located, is right in the middle of Kerala described by Indian Tourism as the "God's Own Country". There was ample opportunities to visit various places in Kerala for pre and post conference holidays.

July 2003 - AIMS has five dedicated Cardiothoracic Operating Theatres and a 40-bed ICU. Over 2300 cases of Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgeries have been performed in the last year. The course is aimed at providing comprehensive training in all aspects of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anaesthesia and ICU by a team of dedicated senior professionals.

The following fellowships are available in Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery:

Facilities includes dedicated outpatient chemotherapy areas, operation theaters for Surgical Oncology and laminar-flow rooms for Bone Marrow Transplantation. Radiation Oncology will include Triple energy, precise Linear Accelerators, Multi-leaf Collinator and Portal Imaging Systems, IMRT Modules, CMS-3D Treatment planning systems, HDR Brachytherapy, stereoradiosurgery and stereoradiotherapy.

The number of seats is mentioned against the speciality

12 - 13 April, 2003 - The AIMS Endocrinology Department had hosted the National Consensus Conference on the Management of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. The conference was officially recognized by the Endocrine Society of India, the Association of Endocrine Surgeons of India and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (India).

The conference examined issues related to the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer and included three concurrent sessions in Nuclear Medicine, Endocrinology and General Surgery.

9 March, 2003 - AIMS hosted a workshop on Rheumatic Fever (RF) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). District Collector Sri. Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated the workshop. Over 150 doctors from Ernakulam district and eminent cardiologists from the state attended the workshop. The faculty includes many of the leading experts in the country.

Rheumatic Heart Disease is the dreaded end point of a disease process that starts with an apparently innocuous sore throat. Scarring progressively damages the heart valves, and once established, treatment is by catheter balloon dilation, or valve replacement surgery. While it has almost disappeared from western societies, rheumatic heart disease continues to be a major health problem in India and most of the developing world. Considerable disability results from heart valve disease in young adults. Further, surgery and catheter procedures are often expensive and beyond the reach of the average Indian family.

The ICMR, Jai Vigyan Mission Mode Project on Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease has chosen AIMS as one of three national nodal centres. The project will establish a registry of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in a selected area in Ernakulam District with a population of about 12 Lakhs (1,200,000). This will determine the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever. In addition, an important goal of the project is to sensitise the community for prevention of the disease by providing health education. The workshop focused on educating medical professionals in the Ernakulam district on diagnosis, management, and most importantly, prevention of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.

The Inauguration of the workshop was attended by representatives from the Indian Medical Association, Indian Academy of Paediatrics and Kerala Government Medical Officers Association. During his inaugural address, Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, District Collector, Ernakulam, commented on the high ethical and professional standards prevailing amongst the medical professionals in Ernakulam. He also described how the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences has made an extraordinary impact on the health care environment in Ernakulam. Mr. Ron Gottsegen, administrative director AIMS addressed the delegates and indicated that AIMS has a significant commitment towards establishing a community outreach program for a number of important health care disciplines.

5 February, 2003 - The AIMS Departments of Urology and Telemedicine and Kochi Urology Club had presented the televideo conference, "First World Summit On Kidney Surgery", which was held at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The interactive sessions and surgeries was held at the Cleveland Clinic and Muljibai Patel Urological Hospital (MPUH), Nadiad, Gujarat and was beamed to AIMS.

As the timing of World Summit programmes was from evening to early in the morning, programmes were also arranged at AIMS during the day-hours of 6th and 7th, which came in-between. We conducted live demonstrations of upper tract endourology and laparoscopic/retroperitoneoscopic surgeries between 10.00AM and 4.00PM on these days. There was also case discussions as time permitted.

There were three primary aspects of this summit. First, detailed discussions of various aspects of kidney surgery was presented: renal cell carcinoma, nephron-sparing techniques, vena caval thrombus, upper tract transitional cell carcinoma, kidney donor surgery, ureteropelvic junction obstruction and stone disease. Second, live, simultaneous, surgical demonstrations had been presented for various renal operations: laparoscopic radical nephrectomy/nephroureterectomy (transperitoneal and retroperitoneal), partial nephrectomy (open and laparoscopic), renal cryoablation, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, laparoscopic pyeloplasty, percutaneous renal surgery and ureteroscopic techniques. A world-class faculty wasl assembled for the various discussions, presentations, debates, and performing (and moderating) the live surgical cases. Finally, a “hands-on” animal laboratory session was provided for those participants interested in learning various laparoscopic procedures (renal and nonrenal) in the porcine and canine model.

Summit Objectives

-Define the knowledge base for the various facets of kidney surgery that applies to daily practice.
-Recognize the technical nuances of various current surgical approaches to kidney surgery (open,laparoscopic, and   endourologic).
-Assess information about the current worldwide results and outcome data of the various renal surgical procedures.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, inspired and blessed by Divine Mother Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, is one of the youngest amongst institutions that have been conferred the status of a “Deemed University” by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, and the only one to have a multi-campus multi-disciplinary character from its inception. The University’s highly qualified and experienced faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and most of all its unwavering commitment to providing superb, value-based education has made Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham one of the most sought-after institutions for admission by top-ranking students from all parts of the country and abroad. The Kochi campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is attached to Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and provides educational programmes in:

Medicine
Dentistry
Nursing
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Paramedical courses,both at graduate & postgraduate levels

The university currently has four campuses located at Amritapuri, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Kochi. The Amritapuri campus hosts the Amrita College of Ayurvedic Medicine.

The facility was demonstrated through the case of a young pregnant woman on Lakshadweep islands who was experiencing respiratory complications. As there is no Pulmonologist available on Lakshadweep, the physicians there presented the case with accompanying x-rays and ECG's transmitted over the video screen. Specialists at AIMS, including a senior Pulmonologist and a senior Obstetrician, expressed their opinions and suggestions. Together they established a treatment plan and scheduled a follow-up consultation.

Dr. Prem Nair, AIMS Medical Director, stressed the importance of telemedicine and stated that it will reduce the necessity of long distance travel to medical specialists by patients in remote areas. Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker, Shri. PM Sayeed, requested ISRO and AIMS to extend their telemedicine services to more of the long distant islands of Lakshadweep where there are only small hospitals and community health centres. He also requested that AIMS initiate a study of the prevalent pattern of diseases in the various islands constituting Lakshadweep.

ISRO Telemedicine Programme Coordinator, Dr. L.S. Satyamurthy, presented an INSAT 3B model as a memento to AIMS, which was received on behalf of AIMS by Mr. Ron Gottsegen, the Administrative Director.