Three generations benefit from surgical excellence of Dr Surendra Purohit
By Vikas Vaidya
Everything about him is sure to make Nagpurians feel proud. He stays in the US, but works for the cause of Indians. He runs on one principle -- if one does not raise his voice, he is never heard. He is a staunch supporter of the Republican Party in America. According to him, this party believes in family values, open society, less government control, and less wastage.
And, many of these values can be seen in this man’s persona. He constantly studies, upgrades, and updates himself to compete with the younger generation; is in the know of advances in technology and maintains his utility value. This medical degree holder is the Chief of Staff at St Tammany Parish Hospital and is the President of Board of Trustees of Lakeview Hospital at New Orleans, USA. He is the Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tulane Medical School.
He has received the highest award in American healthcare -- Healthcare Heroes, the Dr Frist Award and has been conferred the Medal of Freedom by the Republican Senate for community service to republicans. But all these glories aside, according to him, the best award is satisfaction of his patients.
Dr Surendra Purohit is known for adopting new technological advances. The greatest example is his treatment of three generations of a family. Thirty years ago, Dr Purohit had removed a small pear-shaped organ from a woman patient for which she had to undergo open surgery on gallbladder. Ten years after this surgery, her daughter Melynda Ard also had to undergo surgery to remove her gallbladder. Now, her 17-year-old daughter Katelyn Capo has undergone gallbladder surgery at St Tammany Parish Hospital. All three surgeries were performed by Dr Purohit.
Katelyn’s grandmother had undergone traditional open surgery three decades ago which involved a single incision, long stay in hospital and slow recovery. She had to stay several nights in the hospital and six to eight weeks of recovery. Dr Purohit used laparoscopic surgery on Melynda Ard, mother of Katelyn, which required four small incisions and four weeks of recovery.
For Katelyn, Dr Purohit used latest generation ‘da Vinci Robot’ for Katelyn’s single-site gallbladder surgery, the first such use of the Robot in Northshore. Katelyn, unlike her mother and grandmother, went home immediately after surgery. The procedure required a tiny incision inside the navel that left no visible scar. It was painless. For Ard, the combination of the new da Vinci system and Dr Purohit’s expertise and gentle demeanor reassured her that Katelyn was getting the best possible care. Ard said that she brought her to Dr Purohit because she wanted the best for her child in every way which she got.
There is another example, and it pertains to vascular surgery. Dr Purohit again treated three generations of a family with different technologies. The grandmother is 65-years-old. She was suffering from an aortic aneurysm (a general term for an enlargement (dilation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. While the cause of an aneurysm may be multifactorial, the end result is an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location. The aneurysm may occasionally cause pain, which is a sign of impending rupture. When rupture occurs, massive internal hemorrhage results, and, unless treated immediately, shock and death can occur within minutes).
Dr Purohit made a big incision and removed aortic aneurysm by open graft. She had to stay for 10 days in hospital. Dr Purohit did another surgery on the same woman where he removed the plaque of carotid artery. The third procedure he performed was femuropopliteal bypass. She had to stay in hospital for five days.
Dr Purohit performed same three surgeries on her daughter. To remove aortic aneurysm, he used endovascular graft and her stay was reduced to two days from 10 days. To remove the plaque of carotid artery, he put stent in both arteries and she went home immediately after the procedure. Dr Purohit used faster technology while treating the third generation woman of the same family. Dr Purohit says, he is eager to learn new techniques. It highlighted the role of Dr Purohit in embracing technology to benefit the patients.
Dr Surendra Purohit, a towering personality in the medical field in America as well as India, is a bit shy when it comes to discussion on his awards and honours. He is probably among the few doctors across the globe who give utmost importance to the patient. He picks up patients’ calls anywhere and at any given time. “My best award is satisfaction of my patient. I get so many awards but this one feeling stands tall. We are for patients. In the 39 years of my service, I have not taken a single weekly off. My attendance is 100 per cent. I reach the Operation Theatre, the OPD or any place where the patient needs me right on time,” he told ‘The Hitavada’.
Recently, Dr Purohit received the President’s award instituted by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister of India, handed over this award to Dr Purohit. The award committee went through the overall performance of Dr Purohit of last 26 years.
When hurricane ‘Katrina’ swept through the US bringing devastation to human lives and property, the hospital where Dr Purohit was working remained untouched. Dr Purohit stayed in the hospital with the staff for 10 straight days and nights. He did not return home, and handled all critical emergencies personally. There was no light, no fuel for vehicles, and scarcely enough food. Patients were being brought in by helicopters and Dr Purohit worked day and night to save hundreds of lives.
Dr Purohit’s medical journey has been long and arduous. After graduating from Nagpur, he went to England where he did Post Graduation in Accidental Trauma in critical care. In the US, he acquired Post Graduate degree in General and Vascular Surgery from Massachusetts University. When he first applied for the post at a hospital in the US, the then young Dr Purohit stunned everybody. At a young age, he had 4 specialties in his hand.
“I have maintained my touch with India. Recently, I have taken initiative to bring all surgeons from across the globe together. ‘One Global India’ Summit was held in Gujarat which was attended by the present Prime Minister and the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. This time, it will be held in Mumbai in January 2015,” said Dr Purohit, speaking proudly about his initiative.
Asked about research and medical education in the USA, Dr Purohit says, “My medical education upto graduation level was excellent. Post Graduation study is much advanced in USA. The quality of research is much better. It is not that we cannot do the same in India, but the will is absent. We should give a serious thought to research on the lines of USA.”
There are news reports about frequent attacks on doctors by disgruntled patients or families in India. Patients complain of insensitive behaviour and lack of compassion from the care-givers. It is felt that communication is absent in India as far as doctor-patient relationship is concerned.
What is the situation in the USA?
Dr Purohit replies, “I received awards for my contribution to medical services. One of the important criterion while selecting the person for the awards is quality and ethics. I cannot be casual about my patient. We have to monitor quality and ethics. I am Chairman of Ethics Committee of both hospitals -- Lakeview Hospital and St Tammany Parish Hospital. I was elected by the staff of 360 doctors. When we receive complaint about any doctor, the committee hears both sides. If doctor is found guilty, he or she is punished. If he or she does it repeatedly, we send him or her to some other place.”
With the initiative of Dr Purohit, 18 charitable hospitals are being run in India in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and slums in Mumbai. “We raise funds by involving celebrities from Bollywood and other fields. In America also, free treatment at hospitals in Atlanta, Detroit, and Houston is being given to the poor,” he says.
Elaborating on the steps needed to improve healthcare facilities in India, Dr Purohit points out, “In India, we have all types of healthcare facilities, advanced technology, but masses are not getting benefited because they cannot afford the same.” Instead of running smaller hospitals individually, doctors should come together and provide facilities under one roof. This will reduce cost, patients will be benefited, and hospital also will not run in losses, he suggests.
Dr Purohit’s son Sunil has followed his footsteps. He is an established doctor and an excellent academician. Dr Sunil recently performed a breakthrough surgery. A woman was suffering from kidney cancer. She had already lost one kidney. The cancer had spread in second kidney also. Dr Sunil Purohit removed the part of the kidney so that she did not have to go for dialysis. Dr Sunil not only saved her from pain and but also from continuous medical treatment. Dr Sunil Purohit recorded another recent Northshore first in using the robot to remove tumor using its firefly imaging for detailed visualisation of vascular issue.
And, many of these values can be seen in this man’s persona. He constantly studies, upgrades, and updates himself to compete with the younger generation; is in the know of advances in technology and maintains his utility value. This medical degree holder is the Chief of Staff at St Tammany Parish Hospital and is the President of Board of Trustees of Lakeview Hospital at New Orleans, USA. He is the Assistant Professor of Surgery at Tulane Medical School.
He has received the highest award in American healthcare -- Healthcare Heroes, the Dr Frist Award and has been conferred the Medal of Freedom by the Republican Senate for community service to republicans. But all these glories aside, according to him, the best award is satisfaction of his patients.
Dr Surendra Purohit is known for adopting new technological advances. The greatest example is his treatment of three generations of a family. Thirty years ago, Dr Purohit had removed a small pear-shaped organ from a woman patient for which she had to undergo open surgery on gallbladder. Ten years after this surgery, her daughter Melynda Ard also had to undergo surgery to remove her gallbladder. Now, her 17-year-old daughter Katelyn Capo has undergone gallbladder surgery at St Tammany Parish Hospital. All three surgeries were performed by Dr Purohit.
Katelyn’s grandmother had undergone traditional open surgery three decades ago which involved a single incision, long stay in hospital and slow recovery. She had to stay several nights in the hospital and six to eight weeks of recovery. Dr Purohit used laparoscopic surgery on Melynda Ard, mother of Katelyn, which required four small incisions and four weeks of recovery.
For Katelyn, Dr Purohit used latest generation ‘da Vinci Robot’ for Katelyn’s single-site gallbladder surgery, the first such use of the Robot in Northshore. Katelyn, unlike her mother and grandmother, went home immediately after surgery. The procedure required a tiny incision inside the navel that left no visible scar. It was painless. For Ard, the combination of the new da Vinci system and Dr Purohit’s expertise and gentle demeanor reassured her that Katelyn was getting the best possible care. Ard said that she brought her to Dr Purohit because she wanted the best for her child in every way which she got.
There is another example, and it pertains to vascular surgery. Dr Purohit again treated three generations of a family with different technologies. The grandmother is 65-years-old. She was suffering from an aortic aneurysm (a general term for an enlargement (dilation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. While the cause of an aneurysm may be multifactorial, the end result is an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location. The aneurysm may occasionally cause pain, which is a sign of impending rupture. When rupture occurs, massive internal hemorrhage results, and, unless treated immediately, shock and death can occur within minutes).
Dr Purohit made a big incision and removed aortic aneurysm by open graft. She had to stay for 10 days in hospital. Dr Purohit did another surgery on the same woman where he removed the plaque of carotid artery. The third procedure he performed was femuropopliteal bypass. She had to stay in hospital for five days.
Dr Purohit performed same three surgeries on her daughter. To remove aortic aneurysm, he used endovascular graft and her stay was reduced to two days from 10 days. To remove the plaque of carotid artery, he put stent in both arteries and she went home immediately after the procedure. Dr Purohit used faster technology while treating the third generation woman of the same family. Dr Purohit says, he is eager to learn new techniques. It highlighted the role of Dr Purohit in embracing technology to benefit the patients.
Dr Surendra Purohit, a towering personality in the medical field in America as well as India, is a bit shy when it comes to discussion on his awards and honours. He is probably among the few doctors across the globe who give utmost importance to the patient. He picks up patients’ calls anywhere and at any given time. “My best award is satisfaction of my patient. I get so many awards but this one feeling stands tall. We are for patients. In the 39 years of my service, I have not taken a single weekly off. My attendance is 100 per cent. I reach the Operation Theatre, the OPD or any place where the patient needs me right on time,” he told ‘The Hitavada’.
Recently, Dr Purohit received the President’s award instituted by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI). Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister of India, handed over this award to Dr Purohit. The award committee went through the overall performance of Dr Purohit of last 26 years.
When hurricane ‘Katrina’ swept through the US bringing devastation to human lives and property, the hospital where Dr Purohit was working remained untouched. Dr Purohit stayed in the hospital with the staff for 10 straight days and nights. He did not return home, and handled all critical emergencies personally. There was no light, no fuel for vehicles, and scarcely enough food. Patients were being brought in by helicopters and Dr Purohit worked day and night to save hundreds of lives.
Dr Purohit’s medical journey has been long and arduous. After graduating from Nagpur, he went to England where he did Post Graduation in Accidental Trauma in critical care. In the US, he acquired Post Graduate degree in General and Vascular Surgery from Massachusetts University. When he first applied for the post at a hospital in the US, the then young Dr Purohit stunned everybody. At a young age, he had 4 specialties in his hand.
“I have maintained my touch with India. Recently, I have taken initiative to bring all surgeons from across the globe together. ‘One Global India’ Summit was held in Gujarat which was attended by the present Prime Minister and the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. This time, it will be held in Mumbai in January 2015,” said Dr Purohit, speaking proudly about his initiative.
Asked about research and medical education in the USA, Dr Purohit says, “My medical education upto graduation level was excellent. Post Graduation study is much advanced in USA. The quality of research is much better. It is not that we cannot do the same in India, but the will is absent. We should give a serious thought to research on the lines of USA.”
There are news reports about frequent attacks on doctors by disgruntled patients or families in India. Patients complain of insensitive behaviour and lack of compassion from the care-givers. It is felt that communication is absent in India as far as doctor-patient relationship is concerned.
What is the situation in the USA?
Dr Purohit replies, “I received awards for my contribution to medical services. One of the important criterion while selecting the person for the awards is quality and ethics. I cannot be casual about my patient. We have to monitor quality and ethics. I am Chairman of Ethics Committee of both hospitals -- Lakeview Hospital and St Tammany Parish Hospital. I was elected by the staff of 360 doctors. When we receive complaint about any doctor, the committee hears both sides. If doctor is found guilty, he or she is punished. If he or she does it repeatedly, we send him or her to some other place.”
With the initiative of Dr Purohit, 18 charitable hospitals are being run in India in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and slums in Mumbai. “We raise funds by involving celebrities from Bollywood and other fields. In America also, free treatment at hospitals in Atlanta, Detroit, and Houston is being given to the poor,” he says.
Elaborating on the steps needed to improve healthcare facilities in India, Dr Purohit points out, “In India, we have all types of healthcare facilities, advanced technology, but masses are not getting benefited because they cannot afford the same.” Instead of running smaller hospitals individually, doctors should come together and provide facilities under one roof. This will reduce cost, patients will be benefited, and hospital also will not run in losses, he suggests.
Dr Purohit’s son Sunil has followed his footsteps. He is an established doctor and an excellent academician. Dr Sunil recently performed a breakthrough surgery. A woman was suffering from kidney cancer. She had already lost one kidney. The cancer had spread in second kidney also. Dr Sunil Purohit removed the part of the kidney so that she did not have to go for dialysis. Dr Sunil not only saved her from pain and but also from continuous medical treatment. Dr Sunil Purohit recorded another recent Northshore first in using the robot to remove tumor using its firefly imaging for detailed visualisation of vascular issue.
Dialogue with George Bush (Jr)
When George Bush (Jr) was Governor of Texas, he was making up his mind to contest Presidential elections. In that state, he met a group of 10 persons. Dr Surendra Purohit was one of them. Dr Purohit is life member of Senatorial inner-circle of Republican party. He was given Medal of Freedom by Republican party for his work. Dr Purohit discussed the issue of relations with India. Bush had very honestly told Dr Purohit that he was not much aware about India but he would study it and try to improve ties with India. Bush had said that since both the countries were democratic, both should have more sound relations. “His honest answer impressed me. Later on, Bush tried to improve relations with India,” Dr Purohit recalls.
Fight against discrimination
Dr Surendra Purohit is among the founding members of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. It was formed by a few doctors. Dr Purohit says, “Initially, we went to fight discrimination. It became a very powerful organisation. Our organisation is politically active.”
Dr Purohit is Chairman of Political Action Committee also. The doctors, who were foreign graduates, were facing a problem. They were getting discriminatory treatment. Dr Purohit led the crusade. He approached the Senate and Congress where the issue was put in the form of a bill. Both the houses passed the bill. Then, George Bush (Sr) was the President and he signed the bill. That had a great impact and the discrimination ended. Dr Purohit is also in the medical advisory board of Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana. There are four other members in the board.
Dr Purohit is Chairman of Political Action Committee also. The doctors, who were foreign graduates, were facing a problem. They were getting discriminatory treatment. Dr Purohit led the crusade. He approached the Senate and Congress where the issue was put in the form of a bill. Both the houses passed the bill. Then, George Bush (Sr) was the President and he signed the bill. That had a great impact and the discrimination ended. Dr Purohit is also in the medical advisory board of Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana. There are four other members in the board.
Dedication towards profession
Dr Surendra Purohit’s elder brother, the then MP of Nagpur Banwarilal Purohit, had been to US to meet the former. Dr Surendra Purohit received Banwarilal Purohit at the airport and they were on way to home in New Orleans. Suddenly, Dr Purohit received a call from hospital. A patient was in need of doctor’s attention. Dr Purohit immediately rushed to hospital and attended the patient. Such is the dedication of Dr Purohit towards his profession.
Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery, also known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy, is a minimally invasive procedure to remove the gallbladder. Small incisions are made, and a tiny camera guides surgical instruments, reducing scarring and recovery time compared to traditional open surgery. It's commonly used to treat gallstones and related issues.
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