MIOT International conducts free neurology and spine consultation camp at Dr Jivan’s Clinic |29 May 2019
Dr Balakrishnan attending to a patient yesterday
Once again, MIOT International in collaboration with Dr Jivan’s Clinic is conducting a free neurology and spine consultation camp as of yesterday until June 1.
This camp, designed for patients with neurological and spinal disorders, is being carried out by Dr Shankar Balakrishnan, an Interventional Neurologist from MIOT. He is also reviewing previous patients who have undergone health care with MIOT International.
On the first day (yesterday), some 43 patients were examined by the doctor and the MIOT team is expecting to examine some 170 patients during this visit.
“This is my first visit to Seychelles, but MIOT has conducted many camps since 2004. We are looking at 250 patients per year in Seychelles who are receiving all the advanced treatment that are not available here. The major health problems being encountered here is with the spine rather than neurology. The spine constitutes 60% and the brain disorder is 40%. The most common cause for the spine is lack of physical activities and obesity. The cases I have seen so far can be treated and those who have gone through surgeries or failed surgeries also came to see us. For those patients that had a failed surgery we do have the advanced surgery that they can do. Many patients who followed treatments elsewhere are also coming for a second opinion,” noted Dr Balakrishnan.
What is neurological and spinal disorders? Everything that we choose to do like walk and talk, and our senses like vision, touch, taste and memory are controlled by the brain and spine. Together, they form the central nervous system. So naturally, any damage to the brain or spine (or both) can lead to epilepsy, dystonia or Parkinson’s disease, among other disorders, which can be very destabilising.
As with other conditions, getting the right diagnosis at the right time will prevent the neurological and spinal disorder from worsening. The common symptoms are epilepsy, numbness, tremors, neck and back pain, dizziness, difficulty in walking, soft and slurred speech, breathing difficulty, loss of movement, loss of bowel and bladder control, loss of sensation in hands and feet, slow or no swinging of arms while walking or little or no facial expressions.
Until now, MIOT has had some 6500 Seychellois treating with them and the MIOT Centre for Spine Surgery performs close to 1000 surgeries every year. Some of the most common problems treated include: scoliosis, disc-herniation of back or neck, trauma of the spine, degenerative disc conditions, including osteoarthritis, failed-back syndrome and infections of the spine and osteoporosis.
The department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at MIOT performs more than 350 major neurological procedures every year, with a success rate of 98.5%. It offers treatments and procedures for conditions like: brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease (Deep Brain Stimulation method), epilepsy, cerebral palsy, dystonia, tremors and speech disturbances.
Relations between MIOT International and Seychelles go a long way back and the hospital has been treating patients from Seychelles for the last 15 years.