We received a query regarding a very small (eight-month- old) child from one of our clients – the nephew of one of the very senior functionaries needed medical attention.
Patient, an eight-month- old male child, was suffering from congenital liver disorder. When the reports were referred to us, the patient was already scheduled to go to a single superspecialty hospital for liver resection.
As a principle, we do not advise or facilitate our patients to single superspecialty hospital. Any treatment (even the simplest of treatment or surgery) may appear to need a single-specialty treatment but during the course of the treatment it may evolve into needing mutli-disciplinary approach. In fact, the simplest of procedures needs multi-specialty clearance and single-superspecialty may not have all the required specialists on a permanent basis – some may be visiting consultants, while the others may just not be available and the patient (in an unforeseen circumstance of emergency) may be needed to be shifted to different physical premises, thus entailing a delay in the treatment delivery. We counselled the family and they agreed to consider multi-superspecialty hospitals. We floated the patient’s medical reports to our panel of hospitals seeking the line of treatment, length of stay, estimated stay in the hospital and the estimate of cost for the treatment. Various hospitals reverted with various estimates.
The family selected a multi-superspecialty hospital from among the revert known for its very high grade liver programme. The formalities were done and the patient facilitated to the hospital in India.
The original plan included the child’s evaluation on OPD basis and admission for treatment post-evaluation. However, on arrival the doctor saw the patient and immediately admitted the patient into the intensive care. Detailed evaluation showed that the patient was a case of congenital liver failure and needed immediate Liver transplant.
One of the parents of the child was found fit and compatible donor and an emergency transplant was scheduled – however, this transplant needed to be put off by a few days as the child was found to have leucopenia (bone marrow issue).
Since a full-fledged team of bone marrow experts was in the hospital (due to it being mutli-superspecialty hospital), the team worked on the child immediately and controlled the condition with expert care, planned methodology and medication. In a single superspecialty hospital, this seamless attention and treatment would not have been possible for a parallel but equally complex condition. The child would have been in a very severe and disadvantageous situation in a single superspecialty hospital. The child was operated and remained in the intensive care for nearly three months in the post-operative period. It was a rarest of rare surgeries and further rarest of rare post-op care. The child eventually recovered and was discharged.
The parents of the patient have a child who will live and contribute to the society. This was a very complex case which teetered to the verge of panic many times during the treatment (most of it foreseen by the treating team) – however, the situation was brought back to within manageable limits by the treating team. This was because adequate care was given to the hospital selection.
We are very proud that the patient has a resolved medical issue – the parents will now have a new meaning to their life (due to the survival of their child). We as treatment intermediary always put the patient first. We don’t rest till our patient gets the right treatment at the most appropriate and economical cost. We always say: the most expensive treatment does not mean the best treatment. And an economical treatment does not mean “below par” treatment.