Anantapur: Device developed to control bleeding in women

Anantapur: Dr Samartha Ram, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, native of Kondapuram village in Gorantal mandal in the district, who is currently running his own hospital in Kerala, developed a simple device named 'SR PPH suction cannula' to treat the bleeding problem in women during delivery of babies.

Talking to The Hans India during his visit to his native village near here, Dr Ram revealed that he developed a device to treat excessive bleeding in women. With the help of PPH suction, uterus is made to shrink by applying negative pressure inside the uterine cavity with this device. Bleeding stops within three minutes after application of negative pressure.

This breakthrough in innovation was tested by OBGY department in SVMC, Tirupati . A total of 6,446 deliveries were conducted there. Doctors used this technique in 34 women with heavy post-partum bleeding which did not respond to other conventional methods. They reported that bleeding stopped in all 34 women, and there was no need for major surgery in any of these women.

As per the WHO estimates, 303,000 maternal deaths were being reported globally every year. In developing countries, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains the leading cause, and 50% of these women die due to atonic PPH (29.6%).

Majority of these deaths occur in peripheral centres with sub-optimal facilities. When simpler techniques like uterine massage, uterotonics drugs, and balloon tamponad fail, women need major surgeries to stop bleeding. Many times mothers die on roads while being transported to higher medical centres for such surgical treatment, Dr Ram said.

Samartha Ram said that his innovation bagged the first prize in AP Medical festival conducted in Vishakhapatnam last year. He appealed to the AP government to supply these devices to all government hospitals in the State to bring down the maternal deaths. Dr Ram is the Director and the senior consultant at Sandhyaram hospital, Palakkad, Kerala.

He also has been recipient of FOGSI Dr C S Dawn prize thrice, Yuva Fogsi prize, FOGSI-FIGO prize and KFOG President Gold medal.