SVIMS, Tirupati is laying focus on cardiac and cancer care, says its Director and Vice-Chancellor

Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), the super specialty hospital being run by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), is laying an enhanced focus on tackling cardiac disorders and cancer care, while adequate thrust will also be given on preventive care through screening services. The paradigm shift in core focus started after R.V. Kumar, former head of CT surgery at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad, took over the reins of this institute as its Director and Vice-Chancellor. In an interview with The Hindu, Dr. Kumar spoke about his previous accomplishments and explained the roadmap for the development of the SVIMS.

Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), the super specialty hospital being run by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), is laying an enhanced focus on tackling cardiac disorders and cancer care, while adequate thrust will also be given on preventive care through screening services.

The paradigm shift in core focus started after R.V. Kumar, former head of CT surgery at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad, took over the reins of this institute as its Director and Vice-Chancellor. In an interview with The Hindu, Dr. Kumar spoke about his previous accomplishments and explained the roadmap for the development of the SVIMS.

An MBBS gold medalist from the Osmania Medical College, Dr. Kumar completed general surgery at PGI, Chandigarh and holds a degree in heart surgery from the AIIMS, New Delhi. He was trained under the supervision of Dr. Venugopal and Dr. I.M. Rao, the first to perform heart transplant surgery in India.

After getting advanced training in London and Glasgow, Dr. Kumar has performed a whopping 10,000 surgeries at NIMS (including the hospital’s first heart transplant) over three decades. It is his penchant for transplant surgery that has made him chalk out an action plan on this domain too.

“Our CT surgery department here is ready to offer full-fledged services such as valve replacement, valve repairs, bypass and procedures for congenital heart defects. From one or two surgeries per week earlier, we are ready to handle more cases now,” he said. The hospital is contemplating dealing with more cases under the Aarogyasri and Employee Health Insurance (EHS), besides serving institutions such as ESI, railways, RTC, etc.

The hospital has embarked on a massive recruitment plan and has issued a notification for filling up 100 posts in all departments. The last recruitment was done in 2016. “We will soon recruit 300 nurses and then fill up the posts of technicians. Then, we will be geared up to handle more cases,” Dr. Kumar said.