N E W S E R V I C E A T S A N K A R A N E T H R A L A Y A Madras South Round Table 39 OCULAR PROSTHETIC SERVICE The Ocular prosthetic Service, a new addition to the department of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery was recently commissioned and inaugurated at Sankara Nethralaya on 23rd August 2001. In fact, it will be the first time in India, that an ocularist and a dedicated ocular prosthetic service is attached to an Oculoplastic Department in a Major Institution. patients who have had the misfortune of damage to one or both eyes through trauma, infections, tumors or other reasons, undergo surgery to remove the eye with the placement of orbital implants. These patients are subsequently fitted with an artificial eye (prosthesis) which has traditionally been done from a selection of readymade 'stock eyes'. With the development of the Ocular Prosthetic Service, we hope to 'customize' the fitting of an artifical eye to fit the socket comfortably. This will improve cosmesis, with better movement of the artifical eye thereby offering an overall improvement in appearance and psychologtical rehabilitation. Other specialized treatment modalities like customized pressure conformers/socket expanders, designing spectacle mounted prosthesis and even fcilities to couple the artificial eyes to underlying implants will be made available. The ocular Prosthetic Service has been made possible by generous contributions from Madras South Round Table 39 and 'Beach City Friends', Chennai. The service was inaugurated by Mr Jagannathan CMD of United India Insurance Ltd. Dr. Nirmala Subramaniam, the Head of the Orbit and oculoplastic Services received the keys to the department. Ms. Vijayalakshmi, a Senior Optometrist has been trained specially for this service by Dr. Chandrasekhar Chawan, a renowned ocularist based in Mumbai and Miami. She will be offiering the service under the division of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. Çxà{ÜtÄtçt Çxãá Histopathology Department in Sankara Nethralaya got a new microwabve oven. It is obviously not for cooking. In recent years, microwave has been found to be useful for various histopathologic procedures particularly in processing and staining. In addition, immunostaining can be done in faster way through the microwave. Antigen retrieval, a specialized procedure in immunostaining can be done better with the microwave. A small pooja was held on 2nd August 2001 between 11.30 to 12.00 Noon which was attended by Basic Science Department staffs. Ms. Vanitha, senior histopathology technician inaugurated the function. i N N O V A T I O N Amino Acids like tyrosine, phenylalanine, cysteine, homocystine are associated with inborn errors of metabolism. Identification and estimation of amino acids in children with a specific error could save their life. Our institute has the facility to perform this analysis. This investigation requires a chemical named Ortho pthalaldehyde (OPA) supplied by Hewlett Packard, Germany which is very expensive and short lived. S.Lakshmi, scientist in the Department of Biochemistry standardized the preparation of this reqgent indigenously. Hence it is now available for lesser cost, with the same quality. Our organization has greatly benefited both financially and also by eliminating the hurdles in procuring the chemical from Germany. FRCS REVISION COURSE The third Revision Course in Ophthalmology for FRCS was successfully conducted from 27th June to 3rd July 2001. Forty eight people participated in the revision course from India and abroad. The invited guest faculty included Dr. Adrian Koh, Singapore; Dr. Viswanath padmanaban, Singapore; Dr. T.K. Ramesh, Bangalore and Dr. G.Sathish, Chennai. New Integrated Computerised Hospital Management System Medical Research Foundation and Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited have worked together in the implentation of the New Integrated Computerised Hospital Management System for the first time in an ophthalmic institution in India. The System comprises of the modules for the Outpatient system, In-patient system, Medical records, Eye Bank and Inventory management. S N ALUMNI MEET The 7th Sankara Nethralaya Alumni Scientific Meeting was organized on 28th August 2001 from 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm. It was a well organized annual scientific get together of previous fellows and consultants held in the evening of 28th August 2001. The evening commerced with a guest lecture by the invited speaker Dr. Eva Kohner of the United Kingdom. As many as 15 papers were presented in the scientific forum by alumni. Dr. Manoj Saswade, who is now a consultant at Sri Ganapathy Nethralaya, jalna, Maharashtra was awarded the "Late Dr. S. Nataraja Pillai Best Paper Award". The award was received from the Cheif Guest, Professor Selvasundari, Director of Regional Institution of Ophthalmology, Chennai. TH ESO-13 Graduation Ceremony The 13th graduation ceremony of the Elite School of Optomery was held in the premises of ESO, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai on 18th August 2001. Dr.S.Srinivasan, Principal, ESO delivered the welcome address. The chief guest of this ceremony Prof. A. Rajasekaran, senior urosurgeon and past president of the the National Borad of Examinations, New Delhi delivered the convocation address. 31 graduates received their degrees and prize on graduation day. 8th Sri V Venugopal Memorial Endowment Lecture The eighth Sri V.Venugopal Memorial Endowment lecture, organized by the Sankara Nethralaya. Medical Research Foundation and Vision Research Foundation instituted in the year 1994, was delivered by Dr. Pratap C Reedy, Chairman, Appllo Hospitals, Chennai, on 8.9.2001. The Government must take steps to make health insurance a viable proposition and declare healthcare a socially relevant infrasture industry. Dr. Reddy said. Suggesting that the state move away from tertiary healthcare delivery, Dr. Reddy, however, mapped a greater role for the Government in making health insurance 'compulsory'. He foresaw a greater role for the private sector in secondary and tertiary quality care, but said the Government must be a catalyst and accelerate the transformation. preventive and primary care must be made available freely, with a highly integreated approachencompassing food, nutrition, sanitation, drinking water and education. In this context, the new role definition for the health ministry would involve drafting a common strategy and orchestrating implementation by all departments. Talking about the impact technological and scientific advancements would have on health care delivery, Dr. Reddy said the mappingof the human genome would bring different dimensions to preventive health care. Solution would get personalized and customized. Diagnostic services were going to be more accurate, cheaper, safer, faster and accessible. Another significant issue was consumer activism, a movement which would become active in the healthcare sector,. With the net opening up opportunities for the consumer to access information, he would insist on participating in the decision making process. Dr. T.S. Surendran, Medical Director, Sankara Nethralaya, Dr. S. Bhaskaran, Head, Department of Internal medicine and Mr. V Govind, family member of Sri V Venugopal, spoke in the meeting. Dr. C. Balasubramanian Best Outgoing Fellow 2000-01 Dr. Iyer Geetha Krishnan Best Outgoing PG of the Year 2000-01 Dr. Anand Pamparkar Best Outgoing DNB PG 2000-01 Dr. G.Kumaramanickavel Best Research Worker of 2000-01 Dr. A R Anand Best Research Fellowship Training Student of Year 2000-01 Dr. Parveen kharbanda The Indian Society for Prevention of Blindness Prize for 2000-01 Dr. M. Baskaran Best Junior Consultant / Associate Consultant 2000-01 Dr. Lingam Gopal Asst.Medical Director Dr. Lingam Gopal was awarded the best Researcher Award from the Andhra Pradesh Academy of Science on 12.09.2001. The selection for this award was made by the padmabhushan Sri P. Siva Reddy Endowment Award Committee. FOUNDATION DAY CELEBRATIONS Foundation Day was celebrated in a grand manner on 09.09.01 wherein Cultutral programmes by employees were organised. As a part of Foundation Day celebrations, a Blood Donation Camp was organized on 08.09.2001, wherein 93 of our employees donated blood. The camp was conducted by Dr J. Balasubramaniam (VHS, Adyar) and his team & Madras Vouluntary Blood Donors Association. ISLSM WORLD CONGRESS 2001 Recent advances in laser application relating to disease and treatment in various specialities were discussed at a 4 day conference - 14th World Congress of the International Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine (ISLSM) held at Chennai from 27th to 30th August 2001. This is the first time that this meeting has been held in India. The conference was organized by Dr.B.Krishna Rau, who was elected President of the ISLSM. The applications of laser in various specialities such as ENT, denistry, ophthalmology, cosmetology and gastro enterology were highlighted. The ophthalmologhy symposium lasting 3 days was organized by Dr.S.S.Badrinath and Dr. Mahesh P Shanmugam of Sankara Nethralaya. Financial suppport by Cart Zeiss, Bausch & Lomb, Novartis, FDC and Blue Cross contributed to the success of the programme. This sub-speciality module featured symsposia on the uses of laser in oculoplasty, cornea, cataract, galucoma and retinal diseases. " I have never been honoured in my own country like this before". Among the invited international speakers at the 14th World Congress of the International Society for Laser Surgery and Medicine was Dr. R.Srinivasan who was honoured with a citation. Dr SRinivasan