Clinical department

Anaesthesiaand Pain Management

Delivering Safe Anaesthetic for a painless cancer-care journey.

Department overview

The Department of Anaesthesia offers comprehensive Anaesthetic & Pain management care for all Oncology patients, starting in the pre-operative phase and through to recovery: focusing on safety, comfort and enhanced recovery. We offer a diverse pan-spectrum range of services, including pre-surgical patient assessment, comorbids optimization, multi-pronged pre-habilitation, intra-operative anaesthesia planning & administration, critical care support, acute pain management, and interventional multi-modal chronic cancer pain management.

Our involvement starts by keeping patients calm and pain free whilst aiding the expert team to arrive at an early cancer diagnosis. By caring for the critically ill in the ICU, till their post operative rehabilitation, we extend our constant support, across the entirety of the patient's cancer journey. We also address the chronic cancer pain which occurs in survivors, after a few months, by offering cutting edge intervention modalities.

Message from the Head of Department

“Department of Anaesthesia and Pain management prioritises comprehensive, precise, personalised, patient-centric care from the pre-procedural phase, through surgery and rehabilitation: focusing on safety, comfort and enhanced recovery, all the while setting high standards benchmarked with global care and innovations.”

Dr. Punitha CProfessor & Head - Department of Anaesthesia & Pain Management

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Institutional Vision & Principles

Mission & Vision

Our department's vision is to provide excellent perioperative care to all patients, in line with the Institute's motto of "Service to all".

Our mission is to administer evidence-based, secure, and all-encompassing anaesthesia care to each and every patient, driven by our unwavering dedication to inter-professional communication and pioneering research endeavours.

Clinical Care

Clinical Services

Our services are broadly organized under THREE Care Verticals, so as to streamline personnel, equipment and treatment pathways.

Anaesthesia Services in Operating Suite & Procedure Rooms

Pre Anesthesia patient assessment and optimization

Anaesthesia for major oncologic surgeries like HIPEC, HITHOC, PIPAC, ILP (robotic surgeries encompassing head and neck cancers, lung and mediastinal tumours, hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal malignancies, adrenal and urologic cancers, gynaecological cancers, breast cancer, musculoskeletal malignancies and space occupying lesions of the brain and spine)

Special neurosurgical procedures (awake craniotomy and intraoperative neuromonitoring)

Procedural sedation (Brachytherapy and paediatric radiotherapy)

Paediatric Sedation (diagnostic and therapeutic procedures ex: bone marrow aspiration, central line and chemo-port placement, intrathecal drug delivery)

Anaesthesia for interventional radiology procedures (microwave ablation of lung and liver metastases, PICC line insertions, PTBD, PCN and TACE)

Anaesthesia for interventional pulmonology procedures (endo-bronchial ultrasound (EBUS), trachea-bronchial stenting and debulking of airway tumours)

Anaesthesia for medical gastroenterology procedures (endoscopies EUS, ERCP, colonic and oesophageal stenting, SMD and EUS GJ)

Sedation for diagnostic imaging and biopsies (CT, MRI, USG, renogram)

We routinely use:: Advanced Anaesthesia Work-stations & Ventilators

Advanced Multi-parameter Monitors with BIS & Entropy (depth of anaesthesia) awareness monitors

Critical Care Services

Post-surgical care of all critically ill patients in a 14 bedded Unit with 2 isolation beds, advanced invasive & BiPAP ventilators with advanced hemodynamic monitors and infusion pumps.

Multi-specialty care with specialist consults from Cardiology, Neurology, Infectious diseases experts etc.

Multi-disciplinary care with specialist nurses, Nutrition/ dietetic experts, respiratory care therapists and physiotherapists.

Renal-organ support with Hemodialysis

Pain Management Services

APS (Acute Pain Services) to all post-surgical patients with a comprehensive multi-disciplinary Team approach, for smooth & enhanced recovery back to onco-care.

Chronic Cancer Pain Management

Interventional Pain Management Clinic as OPD service

Day-Care pain management procedures.

Minimally invasive & Robot assisted Non-surgical pain management.

Multi-modal approach with medications and injections.

Hybrid technique using different imaging modalities.

Specialized interventions like Coeliac plexus block, Stellate ganglion block, splanchnic nerve blocks etc.

Home-based interventional pain services for terminally ill patients, in coordination with the Palliative Care team

Early Detection & Pre-habilitation

Smoking and alcohol cessation

Dietary and Nutritional supplementation

Targeted exercise regimens and Incentive spirometry

Infection control measures, body and hand hygiene

Rescue Analgesics

Academics & Research

Academic activities of Department

Starting from 2013, we are training students in the Diploma (OT Technology) stream, later converted to BSc. (Bachelor of Science) program in "Anaesthesia & OT Technology" in 2018 - under the aegis of T.N-MGR Medical University; with a sanctioned strength of 8 candidates per academic year. Further information at: https://tnmgrmu.ac.in/index.php/library/e-questions/ahs-ug-degree/b-sc-operation-theatre-and-anaesthesia-technology.html

Research activities in Department

Academic research projects by the Fellowship trainees.
Faculty research projects based on individual interests, after Institutional ethical Quality improvement projects as envisaged by NABH & NCG (National Cancer Grid), to enhance patient care and experience.
Multiple funded research projects as a part of Multi-Centric studies, in close collaboration with major Cancer centres in India and abroad.

When To Visit

When to visit

Clinical Indications

Pre-anesthetic Check-up (PAC)
First visit upon referral from any physician
Subsequent reviews as advised
Premedication visit - on the day before surgery
Chronic pain – whenever necessary

Facilities and Equipment

Advanced Anaesthesia Workstation

Multipara monitor with BIS / Entropy (depth of anaesthesia)

Advanced Hemodynamic monitor

Fibreoptic Bronchoscopy & Video Laryngoscope

TCI/TIVA Pump & Infusion pumps

Ultrasound (USG) & Vein finder

NMT & Nerve stimulator

Nebulisers, Mechanical ventilators, HFNC & BIPAP

ABG & POC

Hb analysis

Forced Air warming Devices & Fluid Warming cabinet

Legacy

Our department has been in the forefront of Anaesthetic Care right from the inception of the Institute in 1954, growing in size and stature to match strides with the demands of evolving medical and surgical cancer care.
1954 - Single Operating Theatre started in 1954
1980 - Anaesthetic coverage for four Operating tables in the Surgical Block operating suite
1982 - Paediatric anaesthetic coverage for diagnostic Imaging, External beam RadioTherapy and for Brachytherapy procedures.
2013 - Anaesthetic care extended to Mahesh memorial children's block in VS campus at Adyar.
2018 - Care extended to the Diamond Jubilee block with its additional four operating rooms, including an advanced Robotic OT
2024 - Peri-operative care extended to the dedicated endoscopy suite and state-of-the-art CathLab catering to Gastro-Endoscopies, ERCP, EUS with stents, Bronchoscopy & Tracheal Stent placements plus the Interventional radiologic procedures in very sick / palliative patients.

Achievements

29 Milestones

01
Organised Onco Anaesthesia national Conference: 2025
02
Annual Onco anesthesia CME: OASyS 2022 & 2023
03
Airway workshop: 2024
04
Pain and POCUS workshop: 2024, 2025

Our Doctors

Our Team

Anaesthesia and Pain Management team at Cancer Institute (WIA)

Contact Anaesthesia and Pain Management

Professor & Head - Department of Anaesthesia & Pain Management

Dr. Punitha C

anesthesia@cancerinstitutewia.org

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