CHENNAI: Ever since Vaidyanathan (40) suffered from rheumatism at a young age, he has been a regular at the Rheumatology Department of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), Park Town. “I grew up here; every time I was admitted, I used to come with my books.” He now runs a handloom business employing 70 people, and is married with three sons.Chandra from Sivakasi district spent lakhs on numerous medical treatments before finally being diagnosed with rheumatism. When she came to Chennai for treatment, she could barely walk, she recalls, her voice breaking as she remembers that difficult time. “Now, I am able to walk and lead a happy life,” she says.These are just a few of the many lives the Rheumatology department of the Madras Medical College (MMC) and RGGGH have touched and changed since its inception in 1972. Functioning as an independent department since 1979 under professor AN Chandrasekaran, it has grown from strength to strength. Recalling the first day, Prof Chandrasekaran says, “I did not know what to expect, or what would happen. But I am glad that the successive heads of department and DMEs have supported it throughout.”Speaking at an event organised to celebrate the occasion of the department turning 40, State Health Minister Dr VS Vijay said, “The hospital as such is dear to me, as I have studied and worked here. In fact, my dissertation itself was on the orthopaedic management of rheumatism. I wish that in the coming years, the department will move to becoming an institute and more such departments will come up in all the government medical institutions.”Head of the Department, Dr S Rukmangatharajan, gave a history of the department and charted its growth. “We were the first to start a DM Rheumatology super-speciality course at MMC in 1991. Today, the department is catering to the needs of patients with rheumatic diseases all over Tamil Nadu.” In Chennai alone, the RGGGH sees around 250 outpatients a day. Dean of MMC Dr V Kanagasabai spoke about the importance of exercise and eating right. “Whenever people feel some pain, they do not get it treated; they simply take some painkillers and continue with their work. This has proved harmful as the number of people suffering from kidney diseases is going up,” he said. Director of Medical Education, Dr C Vamsadhara felicitated the professors, nurses and staff of the department.
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