Location & Charges
It is possible that some surgeons may use old tension repairs like Bassini or Shouldice under the pretext of mesh free surgery. So always insist for mesh free repair by "DESARDA TECHNIQUE" only
Mesh, a piece of synthetic cloth, never gives protection by itself as believed by many. Body forms a curtain around the scaffold of mesh and then it takes another 2-3 years to gain strength in it to give protection. Till then you are not 100% protected !!!
We advise not to get inguinal hernia repair done through laparoscope because the mesh is inserted inside the abdomen and may cause more serious complications.
Separate informed consent in writing is required before mesh repair to avoid future legal complications !!!
GUIDE FOR PROCEDURE, LOCATION & CHARGES
Procedure to be followed is same for patients from India or abroad except the charges (Indian patients are advised to complete the online consultation first to know the applicable charges to them)
OPTION ONE: This option is not available for the time being. You may opt for option two given below.
1] Complete the online consultation procedure by sending an email ( desarda@hotmail.com ) to us requesting for online consultation.
2] Get all medical tests listed below done there & send us the reports or you can get it done here at extra cost at your own risk.
3] You can make payment in US Dollars or any other standard currency.
4] The package cost in US Dollars for small uncomplicated hernias of 1st stage will be around $ 3000 (Terms and conditions apply). Add other applicable charges as given below. a) You are required to pay $100 for OT gases+$100 for OT consumables+$100 for medicines in addition to package charges. b) $500 extra for any associated body disease if any. Charges increase as per the size and stage of hernia or any complications in hernia. Keep around 1000 US$ extra for any extra treatment or surgery or emergency to be kept with us as refundable security deposit. There may be a small change depending on the exchange rate if you wish to make payment in other currency.
5] You are required to send 200 US Dollars by bank transfer as non refundable advance for booking OT for your surgery. Ask us for the bank account details for transfer of money. You may send up to 1000$ to reduce the risk of carrying cash. Rest you are required to pay when you arrive here.
6] You may take leave for about 6-7 days. You are required to come one day prior in the morning for examination and settlement of account. Next day you are admitted and operated. You are discharged next day of surgery. You are required to stay for 2-3 days more after surgery in a nearby hotel.
7] Following are telephone numbers of some nearby hotels for your convenience. Hotel Shreyas (+912025531968), Hotel Sapna ((+912025534141); Hotel President ((+912030255555); Hotel Swaroop (+912065008552); Hotel Laxman (+912065006734), Hotel Kohinoor Executive (+912025532000). We have no tie up with any hotel.
This package price includes your hospital accommodation charges, surgery fees, theater rent, anesthetist fees etc. All your meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day) are also included in the package price. If you wish to be accompanied by a partner or friend, they can share your private room at no additional cost. Current exchange rate will be considered at the time of payment. The package is for a normal stay of 1 night. You need to send only a US $ 200/- nonrefundable advance fee for booking, the remainder to be paid on arrival in cash. Keep extra cash of around 1000$ for emergencies to be kept with us as refundable security deposit.
The packages prices above are not applicable to those patients who may carry a higher risk of surgery due to associated medical conditions or recurrent hernia or hernia complications like large hernia, obstructed hernia, or obesity, or inguino-scrotal hernias etc. Any additional costs for such patients can be arrived at after discussing your medical history with Professor Desarda. Should you wish to stay in your hospital room for more than one night; the accommodation fee (including meals) will be US$100 per day for a small private room, excluding the cost of any medicines and any investigations that may be required in the wards. Extra stay, investigations, treatment if any shall be charged extra separately. Any additional surgery like excision of Lipoma of the cord or Varicocele or extra hernia on same side or congenital hernia will be charged extra at the rate of 200 US $ per procedure.
OPTION TWO: You may Choose the option of operation at reduced cost by associate consultant surgeon trained by us at Pune at your own risk and responsibility. Pay just hospital bill whatever it is and Rs. 15000/- or $500/- (For NRI & Foreign patients) per hernia as administrative expenses not reimbursed by the insurance companies. We do not take any responsibility of these packages, charges and surgery or after recovery. It will be sole responsibility of you and your operating surgeon.* Send an email to us to avail this facility. (desarda@hotmail.com)
You can call us at +91 7738181022 for any more information about charges and billing procedure.
You can plan to arrive in Pune at any time. Make sure that you bring your regular clothes, money, passport with visa endorsement and personal items, just as you would normally do for tours and travel. You can Google “Pune weather” for an overview of seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall. If you are not accustomed to high summer temperatures you may wish to avoid the hottest months of March, April and May.
You can start immediately by having the basic tests (below) done in your own country to check if you are well enough to undergo the hernia repair surgical procedure.
The tests are:
1. Haemogram
2. Routine urine test
3. Blood Sugar level (Fasting and Post lunch)
4. Blood Urea levels for kidney function
5. Hepatitis B test (Australia Antigen)
6. Test for HIV (AIDS test)
7. Chest X-Ray with report.
8. Ultrasound examination of abdomen & scrotum for inguinal hernia.
9. ECG and medical certificate of fitness from the physician
10. Bleeding & Clotting time
11. Corona test by RT-PCR TECHNIQUE (Throat swab)
12. Any other test related with associated disease if any
The operative procedure is normally done under spinal anesthesia. Our repair uses a strong muscle very close to the hernia site. A strip is re-positioned from a nearby muscle called the external oblique aponeurosis. This strong strip of muscle is sutured onto the weak area so that the weak area receives a new support of natural muscle tissue. Moreover, the recurrence rate in this operation is virtually zero. For technical details of the operative procedure, please click on the 'Technique' section of our web pages.
SCHEDULE FOR SURGERY:
Day 1: Examination and settlement of account at 10 am in the morning -stay in your hotel
Day 2: Admission in hospital followed by surgery
Day 3: You are discharged to go to your hotel
ADDRESS: Poona Hospital & Research Centre
27, Navi Peth (Lal Bahaddur Shastri Road)
Near Alka cinema/movie theatre
Pune-411 030
This hospital is well known to everyone in Pune. If the bus or taxi drops you near the railway or bus station in Pune, there are many local taxis or rickshaws available at the bus or railway station to take you to our hospital address within 20 to 30 minutes.
1. Your flight will bring you to Mumbai. You can hire a taxi from the airport to take you from Mumbai to Pune. The distance from Mumbai to Pune is 100 miles (160 kms). The bus or taxi will take about 3-4 hours to reach Pune.
2. Credit cards: Although international Visa enabled credit cards can be used for withdrawing money at ATM centers in Pune, for your convenience we advise you to keep about US$3000-3500 in cash for payment of your package charges and 1000 $ extra for any additional surgery charges or emergency. You can withdraw only 20000/- INR per day from one account in one bank.
MORE DETAILS ABOUT VISA, TAXI, BUS, MOBILE CARD ETC
1 Visa: As of February 2017, citizens of 150 countries can apply for an Indian e-Tourist Visa on Arrival. However, this name is misleading, as you must apply online 4 days before your flight departs rather than just getting the visa upon arrival in India. The price is $60 USD and you must have an electronic photo of yourself on a light background as well as an electronic photo of your passport page. They say that it can require up to 4 days to process, but in practice, assuming there are no missing parts of your application, you should receive the authorization much quicker, often in 1 day. You must print out a copy of the e-Tourist Visa authorization they send you via email and take it to the airport. The airlines will not let you board without a copy of the eTV authorization page, although most airports will have a service desk where you can print it out for a fee. The website to apply for the e-Tourist Visa on Arrival is:https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html It is much easy and faster to get tourist visa.
2 It is suggested to purchase a mobile phone SIM card at the airport. Because it takes a few hours for it to be activated, it is better to purchase it at the airport rather than trying to buy one when you need it, only to find out that it won’t be active for a few hours. The three main mobile phone operators in India are AirTel or Vodafone. All of them should be adequate although AirTel coverage inside Poona Hospital is poor, vodafone gives better coverage. You will require your passport and also a small “passport-type” photo (the mobile phone store can usually take the photo for a fee of 10 – 20 rupees). The cost should be somewhere around 200 rupees to get the card and about 175MB of data (this price also includes 65 rupees of credit for calls). Make sure your phone is unlocked for use with foreign SIM cards before you leave your home country.
3 Download the Google Maps app to your phone before arriving in India. Apple Maps coverage and details are poor in India – Google Maps is much better. Also, in Google Maps, you can download offline maps for use when you have no Internet connection – Highly recommended to download maps for Mumbai and Pune before you come to India.
4 Travel from Mumbai Airport: There are no direct buses travelling from Mumbai Airport to Pune. Your options are either a shared taxi ride (starting at 900 rupees) or else Uber / taxi to the Dadar East railway station (220 rupees) + a bus to Pune (280 – 400 rupees) + a rickshaw / Tuk-Tuk to your hotel (50 rupees) = 550 – 670 rupees. If you take the bus to Pune, depart at the Shivaji nagar stop rather than taking the bus all the way to the terminus. That stop is much closer to Deccan Gymkhana where all the hotels are.
For the shared taxi ride, you can use the KK Travels website (www.kktravels.com). Please keep in mind that you must book your shared cab at least 24 hours beforehand.
For the bus ticket, you can purchase the tickets at Dadar East Railway Station (there are many sellers of “Volvo A/C Bus” to the east of the railway station on Swami Gyan Jivandas Marg Road (across from the Post Office). You can also purchase online at Yatra.com but be aware that the purchase must be 3 days in advance of travel if using a non-India credit or debit card. Oftentimes, the buses do not directly go to the station, but rather a shuttle bus takes you to the long-distance bus. For this reason, it is recommended to purchase the bus tickets from one of the many vendors at the station, as they will make sure that you are in the right place at the right time. Additionally, they can make recommendations such as a closer bus stop to the airport (for example, such as Andheri instead of Dadar East).
Rickshaw / Tuk-Tuk drivers will commonly double the price for foreigners. When they offer you a price, halve it and see what they say. If they object, either walk away or insist on them using the official taxi meter.
It is highly recommended to read the reviews on TripAdvisor.com and book hotels using either Agoda.com or TripAdvisor.com before coming to India. Some recommended hotels near Poona Hospital (we receive no commission or compensation from them) are:
Hotel Kohinoor Executive (+912025532000)
Hotel Sapna (+912025534141)
Hotel Shreyas (+912025531968)
Swaroop Hotel (+912065008552)
Hotel President (+912030255555)
Hotel Laxman (+912065006734)
Hotel President, Hotel Laxman and Swaroop Hotel are near to a small supermarket (Star Bazaar) that accepts foreign credit cards. Hotel Sapna is near McDonalds, KFC, and Domino’s Pizza.
For exchanging foreign currency, avoid outlets (like Thomas Cook, for example) that charge a large fee of 100 to 500 rupees (they call it a ‘tax’) as well as have a poor exchange rate. Changing money at State Bank of India (SBI) or Central Bank of India (CBI) will give a better rate, but may involve a wait in line. For a “good” non-bank money exchange place, you should expect no fees and a loss of about 6% compared to the online exchange rate. For example if the median exchange rate is 67 rupees per USD, expect to receive about 63 rupees per USD with no fees. You will need to provide your passport. We can try to help you in getting better deal with private foreign exchange dealers.
Many hotels, foreign / larger restaurants accept credit cards, which is a good way to pay if you have a credit card that doesn’t charge a fee for foreign transactions (such as a Capital One card). You will get a much better exchange rate than the cash exchange rate. However, if the merchant offers to change the transaction to your native currency (such as USD), say no and ask them to make the charge in rupees – The exchange rates they offer and the fees that they charge for this “service” are very poor.
Power plugs: European style plugs will generally work in Indian outlets. For US / UK / Australian-type plugs, you will need to purchase an adapter. If your equipment will work on 230 volts, you can just purchase a passive plug-type adapter (about 20 rupees). If you require voltage conversion from 230 to 110, then that adapter will be more expensive.
NOTE: Above packages are applicable to foreign nationals & Indians who are staying out of India for more than 180 days (NRI). Patients residing in India (Indian residents) can contact us by telephone or email for appointments, examination, charges etc.
PA to Prof. Desarda
CONTACT EMAIL: desarda@gmail.com or desarda@hotmail.com
* Choose the option of operation at reduced cost by associate surgeon at your own risk and responsibility. We do not take any responsibility of these packages and surgery or after recovery. It will be sole responsibility of you and your operating surgeon.