Neurosurgery

The Department of Neurosurgery at Paalana Institute of Medical Sciences was started in 2004. The department has made great strides forward since then, in rendering modern neurosurgical services to patients. With the acquisition of state of the art equipment it has evolved into a full fledged and one of best equipped neurosurgical centers in part of Kerala. The department of Neurosurgery at Paalana Institute of Medical Sciences has been providing round the clock emergency services to the patients in addition to performing complex surgeries of brain and spine.

An important contribution of the department is in the field of management of severe head injuries which involves critical care and ventilatory management in addition to surgical intervention. Earlier, critically ill patients from Palakkad had to be transported to Trichur or Coimbatore during the crucial "Golden hours" following head injury with resultant disastrous consequences. Now these patients are being managed at Paalana Institute of Medical Sciences. With financial assistance from various schemes, these unfortunate patients can be treated at affordable costs.

In the field of spinal surgery, spinal instrumentation subspeciality has been developed at our department. Transoral surgery, cervical, dorsal and lumbar instrumentation are routinely performed for spinal injuries, tuberculosis and tumors. Microlumbar and cervical discectomies are done to decrease the morbidity associated with surgery and for faster recovery. Spinal reconstruction surgeries like cervical laminoplasty can be undertaken in the department.

In addition to these specialised fields of neurosurgery, the department performs routine Microneurosurgical procedures assisted by the armamentarium of equipment which include Moeller Wedel Operating Microscope, Midas Rex Craniotome and a range of microinstruments.

The department will be acquiring neuroendoscopy equipment shortly, which will be used to operate on tumors within the ventricles of brain and for management of hydrocephalus. It will also be incorporated during Microneurosurgery to assist surgeons in providing better 3D vision in deep seated areas of brain.

Due to the increasing demand of ICU beds we will be upgrading our neurosurgical ICU to a 12 bedded facility from the present strength of 6 beds, shortly. The intensive care unit is well equipped with multipara monitors, central oxygen supply, suction apparatus for individual beds and above all a 1:1 staff patient ratio. With the help of the dedicated staff and modern equipment we have been able to salvage a good number of severely injured patients over the past 5 years.

Our vision

To provide comprehensive neurosurgical treatment at an affordable cost to the people of Palakkad.