Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine is a distinguished department of JSS Hospital providing multitude of services in areas of peri-operative care, intensive critical care and chronic pain management. Anesthesia services remain as the silent backbone for successful surgeries in any medical set up. The quality of anesthesia care plays a major role in a patient’s overall surgical experience and the department of Anesthesiology at JSS Hospital has set a benchmark for exemplary peri operative care based on evidence based protocols. The sprawling operation theatre complex has 23 operation theatres (OT), 3 modular OTs and is equipped with state of art facilities like modern anesthesia workstations, advanced equipment like fibre optic bronchoscope, videolaryngoscope, ultrasound machine and dedicated operation theatre personnel. There are well trained and dedicated anesthesiologists to cater to the plethora of surgical specialities offered in JSS Hospital and the team is spearheaded by an extremely experienced Head with vast experience in dealing with a wide variety of surgical patients.
Team Anesthesia of JSS Hospital is one of the largest departments with 5 Professors, 3 Associate Professors, 10 Assistant Professors and 7 Senior Residents. Two of these Assistant Professors are exclusively trained in cardiac anesthesia and provide dedicated anesthesia and critical care services to the department of Cardiothoracic surgery.
General surgery, Joint replacement and Orthopaedics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Neurosurgery Gastrosurgery, Pediatric surgery, Plastic surgery, Oncosurgery, Oromaxillary surgery, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cardiothoracic surgery are some of the surgical specialities being catered to round the clock.
It is with pride that we mention about being an integral part of renal transplant team as well. Anesthesia services for successful renal transplants are being provided since many decades by a dedicated and well equipped team of anesthesiologists and preparations are underway for training and setting up a dedicated transplant anesthesia team for liver transplantation as well.
Scope of anesthesia services is restricted not just to the operation theatre but also to non operating room procedures like endoscopic procedures, interventional cardiac and neurologic procedures, electroconvulsive therapy and for radiologic procedures in CT/MRI suite. The Anesthesiologist also plays a pivotal role in leading the Code Blue team.
Critical care team is equipped with qualified intensivists who provide standardised care to all patients requiring special care in the ICUs. The ICUs have state of art modern ventilators and latest monitoring gadgets with a favourable patient- nurse ratio thereby ensuring quality care for best outcomes. This team provides utmost support and care to Surgical, Neurosurgical, Medical, Cardiac, Respiratory and Burns ICUs.
There is a team of qualified pain physicians who cater to the needs of patients presenting with various pain conditions. Debilitating pain conditions like Herpes, Cancer pains, Neuropathic pains which severely affect the quality of life for the patients are treated with clinical acumen and empathy as well. C-arm and Ultrasound guided pain procedures; Radiofrequency ablation and inpatient as well as outpatient care are some of the features of this team.
With Covid being the latest threat to mankind world over, the contribution of the department of Anesthesiology in fighting this pandemic has been immense. Three ICUs have been dedicated to treatment of Covid afflicted patients requiring critical care with the faculty and post graduates manning these ICUs and providing life saving care to these patients round the clock tirelessly and selflessly. There are also two dedicated operation theatres to provide anesthesia services to Covid patients requiring emergency or inevitable surgeries like Caesarean Sections and surgeries for Mucormycosis.
The department provides not only holistic care to patients in peri operative period but also contributes immensely to academic programmes. There are teaching programmes for undergraduate as well as post graduate students with emphasis not just on classroom teaching but also on hands-on guided learning. There is use of innovative learning modules to make both teaching and learning an enjoyable experience. There are, on an average, about 36 post graduate students in different levels of training in a given academic year. The department also guides students of Allied Health Sciences undergoing training in Anesthesia and Operation Theatre Technology. There are 15 students each year in this course. Every effort is taken to ensure that the legacy of quality and holistic care which is the trademark of this department is passed on to the future generations.
An advanced Skill and Simulation Lab has been the latest feather in the cap for JSS Medical College and Hospital. It is a matter of pride that one of our own anesthesiologists is the chief co- ordinator of this lab ensuring smooth functioning and optimum utility for the beneficiaries. There is periodic conduct of American Heart Association (AHA) accredited Basic Life Support / Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (BLS/ACLS) courses in this lab, which again sees a major contribution from this multifaceted department in the form of AHA Accredited Instructors coaching the participants the nuances of this life saving skill.
Being a NAAC and NABH accredited hospital, the department functions based on protocols laid by these quality control boards. The faculty undergo regular training to update themselves with latest advancements in the field of Anesthesiology by attending conferences and seminars and also by hosting eminent faculty in the field for the annual seminar conducted by the department. These periodic quality checks and academic appraisals ensure standard of care is maintained at all times. Holistic care and a happy, pain-free patient remain the motto of this Department.
