RG Stone Urological Research Institute

The conception of RG Stone in Delhi is quite interesting. While it had a good facility in Kolkata, when it started out in Delhi, it had no beds of its own. It had one operation theatre and two consultation chambers in Woodstock Hospital in East of Kailash. After struggling for a couple of years, it came up with 40 beds in South Delhi in 610 square metres.

The second facility came up in Pitampura. Relates Chairman cum Managing Director Dr BS Bansal, "We took over a running hospital, renovated and re-constructed the entire place, according to our needs. We have 31 beds there with state-of-the-art OT complex, diagnostics like pathology and radiology." This has a built-up area of 315 square metres with two operation theatres. Presently, the ISO 9001:2000 certified Institute has between 350-400 employees and 60 full-time faculty members (none part-time).

Focus on Urology and Laparoscopy

Dr BS Bansal Chairman & Managing Director

The focus areas are urology and laparoscopy. The areas of expertise in urology are urinary stone, enlarged prostate, kidney cancer, prostate cancer, ureteric stricture, urethral stricture, erectile dysfunction, male infertility and female urinary incontinence. In minimal access surgery, the expertise lies in gall bladder stone, hernia repair, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, uterine prolapse and infertility.

The operation theatres are equipped with Siemens Lithotripsy with ultrasound and X-ray attachment for localisation and treatment of urinary stone, 100 watt holmium laser for treating enlarged prostate and urinary stone, and nephroscope and uretroscope for endourology. All the modern facilities and equipment from Karl Storz and Richard Wolf perform advanced laparoscopic surgeries using 3-chip digital camera, LCD medical monitor, morcellator, bipolar and latest laparoscopic instruments.

Pioneering Technology

RG Stone was the pioneer in lithotripsy in India, way back in 1986. It also pioneered the 100 watt holmium laser from Lumenis, USA in 1999-2000 in Asia-Pacific for treating enlarged prostate and urinary stones. The Institute holds the Guinness World Record and Limca Record for treating the largest kidney stone (13 cm) in the world endoscopically. "It was also the first institute in India to perform laparoscopy assisted PCNL for a pelvic kidney staghorn, to have treated both the youngest patient (nine months) and the oldest patient with stones (107 years), and to have treated a patient having permanent cardiac pacemaker with stone with lithotripsy," says Hanish Bansal, Executive Director.

Selling Point

Dr Bansal feels the USP of the Group is that, "We are the first and only dedicated super-speciality urology care centre in India. We have state-of-the-art technology of global standards to provide the best care and medical facilities on par with top medical institutes worldwide, plus our full-time dedicated team of doctors."

Integrating Information

The Institute currently uses standard software for all its centres, which it is upgrading at a cost of Rs 50- 60 lakh. "We are making a complete integrated net-based ERP solution connecting our six existing centres and 15 upcoming centres all over the country. We are making a database server house in our headquarters in New Delhi," explains Dr Bansal.

Seeking Prevention

"We try to evaluate the cause of renal stones, how to prevent them and how to avoid recurrence. We are also constantly involved in developing unique techniques for our various procedures and for that we also submit papers and presentations in various national and international conferences and publications," says Dr Bansal.

As a result of its dedicated research and internationally recognised work, RG has been chosen as a training centre by Lumenis, US for doctors from all over the world to get specialised training on Holmium Laser Enucleation of Prostate and management of renal stones.

Venturing Globally

Associates in the US and the UK interact with prospective patients and send them to RG. "We will have more such associates in other countries also. We are also focusing on setting up an information centre in Bangladesh soon followed by Sri Lanka and Kenya," says Dr Bansal.

Executing Responsibility

RG conducts ailment and treatment educational talks for various communities like Residential Welfare Associations, Rotary Clubs and Lions' Clubs, various organisations, NGOs, MNCs and corporates. They have also tied up with NGOs like Help Rural India for regular free check up camps followed by free treatment at their centres.

These CSR activities are not just near their centres, but also in other cities and various remote areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Future Growth

It is looking at opening two more facilities in East and Central Delhi. In Gurgaon and Noida, it is exploring the option of managing urology departments of hospitals. "All these proposals will see the light of day by March 2009. The projects would be funded by 1:1 ratio of debt and equity," says Hanish Bansal. The Company has already raised $10 million equity through ICICI Ventures.