July 13, 2011
School of Medicine, Kochi
 

A new clinic for the treatment of brachial plexus and peripheral nerve disorders was inaugurated at the Amrita School of Medicine on June 27, 2011.
 

With its commencement, Amrita becomes the first institution in India to have a brachial plexus clinic that will offer treatment for both adult and pediatric brachial plexus injuries.
 

Originating from the neck and the shoulder, the brachial plexus is a network of nerves that controls the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulders. Brachial plexus injuries occur as a result of shoulder trauma, tumors or inflammation.
 

Now the new clinic will make available advanced evaluation and treatment facilities for these nervous disorders.
 

Dr. Mukund Thatte, an eminent plastic and reconstructive surgeon was the invited guest at the inauguration.  

“The multispecialty clinic for brachial plexus related disorders at Amrita is a model the rest of the country should follow,” he stated.
 

Coincident with the inauguration, a three-day training program on brachial plexus and peripheral nerve surgery was organized by the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery during June 26-28, 2011. The training program was conducted jointly by the Amrita School of Medicine and Trichur Medical College.
 

“The objective of the training program was to teach surgical approaches for exploring the brachial plexus,” stated Dr. Subramania Iyer, Course Director and Head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
 

Expert clinicians and faculty from the field demonstrated hands-on cadaveric procedures which included oberlin’s procedure, posterior approach for XI nerve to suprascapular nerve, somsak’s procedure, intercoastal nerve harvesting, carpal tunnel release and cubital tunnel release.
 

In addition to Amrita faculty, distinguished speakers and faculty from all over the country elaborated on topics such as operative management of adult BPI, management of pain in BPI, musculocutaneous nerve reconstruction in devastating brachial plexus injuries, decision making and operative strategy in obstetric and brachial plexus injuries, physiotherapy in obstetric and brachial plexus injuries and orthopedic procedures in brachial plexus injuries.
 

“At Amrita a group of doctors from the departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Plastic Surgery, Orthopedics and Physical Medicine have worked together as a cohesive team to treat these disorders,” noted Dr. Ashok Pillai, Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery.
 

“Since November 2009, Amrita has already treated over 150 such patients,” added Dr. Sundeep Vijayaraghavan, Clinical Professor in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.