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Welcome to the August 2015 Newsletter.

July saw the valuable addition of UK-trained spine surgeon, Dr G Balamurali with more than 15 years of international experience to the Kauvery team, as well as the launch of a Spine Centre with special packages for chronic neck and back pain.

We organized blood donation camps and medical camps as far as Nellore. It was highly gratifying to see two of our doctors, Dr N Sekar, Professor of Vascular Surgery and Dr Kannan, Professor of Gastroenterology get the ‘Best Doctor’ award from the Indian Medical Association for their exemplary service to society and contribution to medical science.

We also inaugurated a new Labour Delivery suite to provide a better and more comfortable ambience and experience for the mother and the new born. August promises to be just as action-packed, with many interesting events on the anvil.

As always, we look forward to a continued and enthusiastic support from you all.

Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj, MBBS, MS Ortho, D Ortho (London), FRCS (Ireland), FRCS Ortho (UK/Ireland)
Executive Director & Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon

Ask The Doctor

Doctor I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. What kind of complications should I be aware of?

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, when the placenta produces certain hormones that cause the blood sugar levels to rise in the pregnant mother. Generally, the pancreas can produce sufficient insulin to convert the sugar but there can be cases where insufficient insulin is produced and hence the rise in blood sugar levels, causing gestational diabetes.

Pregnant mothers diagnosed with diabetes can deliver healthy babies, when gestational diabetes is well managed. On the contrary, when gestational diabetes is not managed, then this could lead to high blood sugar levels and cause a number of problems for both mother and baby.

Possible Complications:

• The odds of delivering by C section will be high.
• The baby’s pancreas produces more insulin when the excess blood sugar in the pregnant mother’s bloodstream permeates through the placenta. This causes the baby to grow large weighing around 4 kilograms. A large baby could mean that the baby could get jammed in the birth canal, with possibilities of birth injuries, ultimately requiring a C section.
• It can cause pre-term birth, delivery before due date. An early delivery could cause breathing difficulties otherwise known as respiratory distress syndrome in the new born. Until the baby’s lungs mature and grow stronger, the baby will need help to breathe. Even in cases where the baby is born on or after the due date, the baby can have respiratory distress syndrome.
• Uncontrolled gestational diabetes can cause the baby’s pancreas to produce more insulin, thereby on birth, the baby will suffer from low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can cause seizures and the baby will need intravenous glucose solution.
• Babies born of mothers with unmanaged gestational diabetes, can become obese later on in life and develop diabetes mellitus.
• Untreated gestational diabetes can result in the death of the baby either before or shortly after birth.

Doctor I love wearing high heels. Will this have any consequences on my health?

It is understandable that stilettos have a special appeal to most young and stylishly inclined women, who are hypnotically wooed with no knowledge, whatsoever, of the impact that high heels that they wear, can have on their body. Here are some facts:

Feet

The feet have been designed and engineered to bear the load of your body mass (weight) and are like shock absorbers that take the pounding of your skeletal frame, when you walk. In short, your feet help to distribute the weight and helps to balance your body. By donning on high heels, your weight and balance now rest on the balls of your feet and the delicate, tiny toe bones. The higher the heels, greater is the impact. Example: On a 4 inch high heel, the pressure on the toes is 30 percent or more.

Strutting on high heels all the time causes your gait to be abrupt and your weight shifts from heel-to-toe. This could lead to damage of the nerves and bones in your feet, ingrown toenails and blisters.

Calves and Ankles

The blood circulation in the lower limbs become restricted and if you continuously wear high heels, it could lead to vascular problems. Further your Achilles tendon stiffen, causing the calves to bunch up. With time, your ankles and calf tendons will become chronically short and stiff.

Impact on the Knees

Frequent use of high heels puts more stress on the inner sides of the knees, consequently making you a prime candidate for osteoarthritis.

Hips

To maintain your balance on high heels, your body thrusts your hips forward, arches your back and pushes your chest out and this causes the outer hip muscles and tendons to harden.

Back

Your spine sashays unnaturally which places an undue stress on the lumbar erector spinal muscles.

To conclude: Avoid using high heels every day. Give your feet and body a break every other day. Alternatively keep those high heels for special occasions and save yourself from regrets later on in life.

EVENTS OF THE PAST MONTH

Nascai- Senior Citizen Forum

A health talk was conducted in association with Nascai on July 19th at the 7th floor Kauvery Hospital. The topic of the event was "Life of Elders in the current Environment". Around 60 senior citizens attended the event. The highlight of the event was the problems in the current environment for senior citizen was discussed and lots of solutions we given to them.

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World Population Day Awareness Rally

Kauvery Hospital along with Corporation of Chennai conducted a rally to mark World Population Day on July 16th from Natesan Park, T.Nagar to Sir.P.T.Thiyagaraya Arangam in association with State Family Welfare Department, Chennai Corporation. 20 students of Corporation Community College and a team of Paramedical staff from Kauvery Hospital participated in the rally.

Distinguished Guest, the Chennai Mayor, Mr.Saithai Duraisamy spoke on population awareness and women education.

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Doctors’ Day Celebration

Doctors’ Day Celebration was held on July 11th at Hotel Raj Palace Sundar, Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai.

91 doctors from IMA Kauvery and IMA Chennai South participated in this celebration. IMA Chennai South presented the Doctors’ Day award to Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj (Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon) and IMA Kauvery presented the awards to Dr. N.Sekar (Chief Vascular Surgeon) and Dr.R.Kannan (Chief Gastro Surgeon).

Dr.R.V.S.Surendran (President, IMA Tamil Nadu State Branch) and Dr.C.N.Raja (Secretary,IMA Tamil Nadu State Branch) were the distinguished chief guests for the occasion.

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Nellore Camp

A multispeciality camp was held at Nellore on July 12th by Kauvery Hospital along with Chennai Hospitals Information Centre [CHIC]. Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj, Dr. Sundar Kumar, Dr. Sivaram Kannan, Dr. Sabeeha, Dr. Saravannan and Dr. Nirmal participated in this camp, which benefited 550 patients.

Sri. Kotam Reddy Sreedhar Reddy Garu [MLA, Nellore Rural] and Sri. Anil Kumar Yadav Garu [Nellore City MLA], and Sri. Mukkala Dwarakanadh Garu [Deputy Mayor, Nellore] were the chief guests on the occasion.

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New Labour Room Inauguration

A new Labour Room on the 3rd floor was inaugurated By Dr.J.S.Lakshmi MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ex. Head of Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, St. Isabels Hospital, Chennai and Dr.Usha Krishnan MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Head Of Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, St.Isabels Hospital, Chennai.

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Medical Camp for MTC Thiruvanmiyur

A general medical camp was conducted at MTC – Thiruvanmiyur on 10th July 2015.

132 employees of MTC benefited through the camp.

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Medical Camp at Perambur Police Quarters

A general medical camp was conducted at Police Quarters, Perambur on 11th July 2015. This camp was conducted to benefit the Police employees and their family members.

Recipe Corner

Tomato Based Brinjal Stew

Vegetables are always a very good source of vitamins, carbohydrates and most importantly fiber. In this issue, we are featuring a recipe with vegetables that are normally used in the kitchens of Tamil Nadu. Call the nutritious Brinjal by any name, Eggplant, aubergine, no matter which, it is one of the most easily available vegetable globally and in fact if you go to South Africa, you will find that the Eggplant is prepared in several different ways and is consumed every day.

Nutritional value of brinjal: The skin of a Brinjal is full of potassium, magnesium, fiber and antioxidants. Brinjals is ranked among the top 10 vegetables with reference to its “oxygen radical absorption capacity”, which is because of the phenolic content in the fruit.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 1hr 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• Brinjals – Large variety – 2 (those normally used in Baingan Bartha recipes) peeled and diced
• Sea salt – 1 ½ tbsp
• Oil – 5 tbsp or ¼ cup (Olive, Refined, Sesame)
• Spilt Peas (pattani paruppu) – ½ cup
• Onion – 1 medium size, thinly sliced
• Tomatoes – 4 medium size
• Garlic – 4 cloves minced finely
• Lime Juice – from 1 lime
• Dry raisins or pomegranate molasses – ½ cup (optional)
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Black pepper – ½ tsp
• Cinnamon powder – ½ tsp
• Water – 4 cups

Preparation:

• Soak the diced brinjal in a vessel, with some water for 20 minutes (to get rid of any bitterness), add 1 tablespoon sea salt to the water.
• Remove the diced brinjal pieces after 20 minutes from the salted water and blot dry.
• Place a karai or wok over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil (of your choice).
• Stir in the brinjals and sauté, stirring frequently, until the brinjal is tender, brown and cooked.
• Remove the karai from the stove and set aside.
• Place the tomatoes in a pot of hot water for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes peel the skin off and chop and mash the tomatoes to a puree.
• Next, in a large saucepan, add the remaining oil and sauté the finely sliced onions, until translucent or light pink in colour. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, add the turmeric, salt, powdered cinnamon and black pepper and stir and mix thoroughly.
• Add the split peas and sauté for 5-6 minutes.
• Add the tomato puree and water to cover the ingredients, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce flame to low heat and cook for an hour.
• Add the cooked brinjals to the mixture, add additional seasoning or water if required.
• Add the raisins or pomegranate molasses (diabetics are requested to avoid this ingredient).
• Add the lime juice and cook until the stew is medium thick.

Serve hot with rice, chappaties, pappadams and cucumber raita.
Caloric Value: 240
Carbohydrates: 38g
Fat: 1.5g
Proteins: 2 .2g
Fiber: 7.2g
Sugar: 20.6g