Balco Medical Centre, a premier cancer hospital at Naya Raipur, performs Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE), a first-of-its-kind in Chhattisgarh. A 73yrs old gentleman was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, called Waldenstorms Macroglobulinemia. He came with the complaints of headache, hypertension with very high immunoglobulin level, which lead to a very high risk of stroke and other complications. To alleviate those, it was necessary to replace his plasma by a procedure called Therapeutic Plasma Exchange (TPE).
According to Dr. Dibyendu De, Haematologist, and Dr. Neelesh Jain, Transfusion Medicine specialist, of BMC, “Replacing someone’s plasma is a very difficult task, and to perform such procedures in an elderly patient that too with very fragile veins also have a lot of risks. However, it was done successfully without any complications by the expert team of Balco Medical Centre.”
Dr. Dibyendu further added, “TPE is indicated in various other neurological conditions, like GBS and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and also in the non-neurological conditions, like Myasthenia Gravis (MG), Hyperviscosity Syndrome, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), etc.”
Explaining the procedure, Dr. Neelesh Jain said, “Therapeutic plasma exchange is a treatment that removes plasma from your blood. The plasma removal washes out different toxins and immunoglobulins from the body. The removed plasma is then replaced with a substitute. TPE uses a special equipment called apheresis machine to separate plasma from the blood, while rest of the essential components of blood remains in the body. Hopefully, this procedure will help the patient to combat cancer without any complications. In addition to Therapeutic Plasma Exchange, apheresis technology has also been used in performing Leukapheresis and Granulocytapheresis, which were also performed first time in CG in our facility.”
About Vedanta Medical Research Foundation (VMRF) and Balco Medical Centre (BMC):
Vedanta Medical Research Foundation (VMRF) is a non-profit organisation initiated by Vedanta Resources and Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (BALCO) to contribute to the prevention of cancer and its related illnesses through a Centre of Excellence in medical, surgical and radiation oncology. VMRF aims to bring ultra-modern, multi-modality diagnostic and therapeutic facilities within easy reach of India’s population at a reasonable and affordable cost. Balco Medical Centre, VMRF’s first flagship initiative set up in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh, is a 170-bed, state-of-the-art tertiary care oncology facility with 45 specialist doctors. It is the largest and most advanced oncology facility in the entire central India. It provides affordable yet world-class treatment of the most critical disease known to mankind. Currently, it is fast emerging as a national leader in India’s oncology space including medical, surgical, radiation and palliative care.
