Osteoporosis treatment and orthopedic surgery in India and singapore

Osteoporosis is an orthopedic disorder of the bones that leads to an increased risk of them being fragile and leading to fractures. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) index is reduced significantly. Bones become weak and their microarchitecture deteriorates gradually. Very often the amount and variety of composition of proteins in bone is altered. Such patient often go on to require a knee replacement surgery in old age.

The three main processes by which osteoporosis progresses are an insufficient peak bone mass i.e, the skeleton develops insufficient mass and strength during growth, increased bone resorption and inadequate formation of new bones during remodeling.

Osteoporosis itself has no exact symptoms. Its main repercussion is the increased risk of bone fractures

The diagnosis of medical condition of osteoporosis in a patient can be made using the tools of conventional radiography and by the processes of measuring the bone mineral density (BMD)

Certain medications have been found to be associated with an increase in the risk of osteoporosis. Earlier steroids and anticonvulsants were classically thought to have been associated with osteoporosis. However, evidence is emerging with regard to link with other drugs.

* Barbiturates, phenytoin and some other enzyme-inducing antiepileptics are also likely culprits. These drugs most likely accelerate the metabolism of vitamin D.

* Steroid-induced osteoporosis (SIOP) has been found to be associated with use of glucocorticoids - analogous to Cushing's syndrome and involving mainly the axial skeleton. The synthetic drug glucocorticoid prescription prednisone is a main candidate after prolonged intake. These drugs could worsen existing conditions and this would push the patient towards orthopaedic surgery and other treatment.

IVF- In vitro fertilisation treatment in India and Singapore

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which the egg cells extracted from the woman are fertilized by sperm outside the human body: in vitro. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have been unsuccessful. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process of the woman's body, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and enabling the sperm fertilize them in a fluid medium. The fertilized egg (zygote) is then transferred back and implanted in to the patient's uterus with the objective to establish a pregnancy. The first successful birth of a 'test tube baby', Louise Brown, occurred in 1978. Robert G. Edwards, is the physiologist who devised the treatment. He was later awarded the esteemed Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in the year 2010.

In Vitro Fertilization – (IVF)

Infertility affects upto 15% of all couples, who are unable to conceive and have children naturally.Various techniques of Assisted reproduction has now made it possible to treat almost all forms of infertility and help such couples to achieve pregnancy. These medical techniques are now responsible for the birth of around 2 million children worldwide. Singapore, Thailand and Indian hospitals offer the latest services, with success rates equivalent to the west, at very affordable costs but at the same time without compromising on quality. This has been possible by making use of the state-of-the-art equipment, best quality disposable and imported culture media, high-class competent service and very economical professional fees. This objective has enabled our partner units to be at the forefront in offering fertility services in India. Our goal is to offer the most advanced and globally competitive ART programs and services. All these centers are equipped with the state-of-the-art 'Embryology Laboratory' and staffed with the team of highly trained professionals. Our partner hospitals like Apollo, Fortis, Apollo and Narayana Hospital have advanced facilities of performing IVF procedure . The expert team has managed more than 12,000 patients and achieved pregnancy rate of 40-50% in women less than 35 years of age.

The term in vitro, is derived from the Latin root meaning in glass, is used, because early biological experiments involving cultivation of tissues outside the living organism from which they came, were carried out in glass containers such as beakers, test tubes, or petri dishes. Today, the term in vitro is commonly used to refer to any biological procedure that is performed outside the body of organism it would normally be occurring in. This is to distinguish it from an in vivo procedure, where the tissue remains inside the living organism within which it is normally found. A colloquial term for babies conceived as the result of IVF is, 'test tube babies'. This refers back to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin, called test tubes, that are commonly used in chemistry labs and biology labs. However, in vitro fertilisation in hospitals is usually performed in the shallower containers called Petri dishes. One IVF method, Autologous Endometrial Coculture, is actually performed on organic material, but is still considered in vitro.

Medical Tourism and healthcare in Singapore.

 Medical tourism – the process of leaving home for treatment and care abroad (e.g., Singapore) or elsewhere domestically (e.g., in a different state within the US). This has become an emerging phenomenon in the health care industry. The Deloitte 2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers, a nationally representative, online survey of more than 3,000 Americans, found that outbound medical tourism is expected to experience explosive growth over the next three to five years. Especially in the cosmetic surgery and dental tourism sectors.

Consider the following:
• The safety and quality of care available in many offshore facilities is no longer quite an issue: Organizations
including the Joint Commission International USA (JCI) and others are accrediting these facilities.
• Health care costs are increasing at eight percent per year – well above the Consumer Price Index (CPI),
thus eating into corporate profits and per capita disposable income.
• Consumers are willing to travel to obtain care that is both safe and less costly. In fact, two in five survey
respondents said they would be interested in pursuing treatment abroad if quality was comparable and the
savings were 50 percent or more.
By contrast, inbound medical tourism and medical tourism across state lines will continue to be an interesting
opportunity for specialty hubs with medical treatment unavailable elsewhere in the world or in a community setting.

In 2007, an estimated 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care. As depicted in Figures 2 and 3, this number is estimated to increase to six million by 2010.1,2 Accordingly, the base-case estimate
for the annual growth rate in outbound medical tourism is estimated at 100 percent from 2007 to 2010. Increases beyond this time, however, could be tempered by several factors:
• Supply capacity constraints in foreign countries
• U.S. health plans’ possible decision to not cover services provided
offshore
• U.S. providers’ possible decision to compete more aggressively
with outbound programs
• Potential government policies that might curtail demand.

In the year 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked Singapore as the 6th best health care system in the world, much higher than the US, Canada or UK.
Hospitals and medical centers in Singapore are mostly government run or public facilities, while a few are privately owned like the Raffles Hospital and Parkway hospitals.
All Singaporean hospitals offer state-of-the-art healthcare services and facilities. They are serviced by English-speaking and US or Europe trained medical practitioners and staff.

Like the neighboring Indian hospitals , most specialty centers in Singapore cater to international medical tourists, and practically all of them offer high end quality healthcare. Most major hospitals in Singapore have attained international accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), ISO or OHSAS. In 2011, Singapore had 18 JCI accredited hospitals.