How Healing Hands Clinic Revolutionized Anorectal Care and Established Proctology as a Recognized Medical Discipline
Healing Hands Clinic Main Branch Pune
Curing With Care
From stigma to super-specialty: How Healing Hands Clinic made proctology a recognized medical discipline in India, treating 1M+ patients since 2013.
PUNE, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, May 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Founded in 2013 by Dr. Ashwin Porwal, India's leading proctosurgeon, Healing Hands Clinic has grown from a single consulting room in Pune to a pan-India
India has long carried a silent epidemic. Haemorrhoids, anal fistulas, fissures, rectal prolapse, and chronic constipation collectively affect an estimated 50% of the Indian population at some point in their lives yet for decades, these conditions were treated as secondary concerns within general surgery, with no dedicated specialists, no structured training, and a wall of social stigma that kept patients from seeking help. That silence began to break in 2013, when Dr. Ashwin Porwal opened the doors of Healing Hands Clinic (HHC) in Pune and set out to do something no one had formally attempted in Indian medicine before: establish Proctology as a standalone super-specialty.
A Gap in Indian Healthcare and the Doctor Who Saw It:-
Before Healing Hands Clinic, anorectal diseases in India were almost exclusively managed by general surgeons with no specialized proctological training. Patients routinely went misdiagnosed or under-treated. Many endured years of pain, recurrence, and embarrassment bouncing between gastroenterologists and surgeons with no clear destination.
Dr. Porwal, a graduate of the prestigious B.J. Medical College, Pune, pursued advanced training in proctology in Rome and was personally mentored by Dr. Antonio Longo the world-renowned colorectal surgeon who invented both MIPH (Minimally Invasive Procedure for Haemorrhoids) and STARR (Stapled Transanal Rectal Resection) surgeries. Returning to India with this depth of expertise, Dr. Porwal made a defining choice: rather than practice proctology as a subset of general surgery, he would build an institution where it stood on its own with dedicated infrastructure, standardized protocols, and a patient-first philosophy.
Surgical Firsts That Put India on the Global Map:-
Healing Hands Clinic's clinical legacy is anchored in a series of surgical firsts that have elevated both the clinic and India's standing in global proctology:
Laser Surgery for Piles & Fistula: Dr. Porwal introduced the Leonardo Laser to India the first use of laser technology for treating haemorrhoids, fistulas, and fissures in the country, dramatically reducing recovery times and post-operative discomfort.
DLPL: A Global Best Practice: Dr. Porwal developed the DLPL (Distal Laser Proximal Ligation) technique for complex and recurrent fistulas a breakthrough now recognized internationally as a gold-standard protocol for difficult fistula cases.
Asia's Highest-Volume STARR Surgeon: He performed the first STARR surgery for chronic constipation in Maharashtra and has since conducted the highest number of this procedure in all of Asia.
POPS A First for Indian Women: Dr. Porwal was the first surgeon in India to perform POPS (Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery), bringing advanced pelvic floor reconstruction to Indian patients who previously had limited options.
Limca Book of Records 2019: In a landmark surgical case, Dr. Porwal successfully treated a 110-centimeter horseshoe-shaped fistula extending below the knee the longest documented anorectal fistula in medical history earning an entry in the Limca Book of Records and international acclaim.
Institutionalizing Proctology: Training the Next Generation:-
A specialty is only as strong as the professionals it produces. Recognizing this, Healing Hands Clinic launched India's first MUHS (Maharashtra University of Health Sciences)-approved Fellowship in Proctology creating a formal academic pipeline that allows surgeons to qualify in proctology as a distinct discipline for the first time in the country's medical history.
Surgeons from across India and from countries worldwide now seek training at HHC, and many have gone on to establish their own dedicated proctology practices multiplying the impact of the specialty far beyond Pune. Dr. Porwal's research has been cited over 530 times in peer-reviewed medical literature, cementing HHC's role as a center of academic excellence, not just clinical care.
On the global stage, Dr. Porwal became the first Indian surgeon to present orally at the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) the world's most prestigious colorectal surgery body and is one of only three Indians ever recognized by the Russian Society of Colorectal Surgery. He has presented at major surgical conferences in the United States, Europe, Abu Dhabi, and beyond.
A Network Built on Standardization, Not Just Scale:-
What distinguishes Healing Hands Clinic from a large hospital chain is its insistence on clinical standardization across every center. HHC's proprietary grade-wise treatment protocol ensures that a patient in Nagpur receives the same evidence-based care pathway as one in Mumbai or Bengaluru. Grade I haemorrhoids are treated with Pilokit India's first plant-based patented piles medication developed by HHC. Advanced cases are managed through Laser Hemorrhoidopexy or Stapler Surgery (MIPH). Every step is governed by a documented clinical model, leaving minimal room for variance.
This standardization, combined with the MCDPA (Medicine, Constipation management, Diet, Physiotherapy, and Ayurveda) approach, makes HHC's treatment model genuinely holistic addressing root causes and lifestyle factors alongside surgical intervention. Each center is staffed by nutritionists, physiotherapists, and trained paramedical professionals, ensuring care continues long after the procedure.
Recognition, Rankings, and the Road to 100 Centers:-
Healing Hands Clinic was ranked #1 in the Best Gastroenterology Hospital Rankings 2025 by Outlook magazine and NEB Research, and holds NABH accreditation as India's first and only certified proctology clinic. HHC has been featured in Forbes India, The Times of India, and The Indian Express, and is ISO certified and ECTA (European Communities Trademark Association) recognized underscoring its status on both national and international platforms.
Beyond clinical walls, the Healing Hands Foundation (HHF), established in 2017 by Dr. Ashwin Porwal and co-founder Dr. Snehal Porwal, has delivered free medical care and awareness to over 200,000 individuals across 270 villages bringing proctological health literacy to rural India and dismantling the stigma that has long kept patients silent.
Healing Hands Clinic's story is ultimately about more than medicine. It is about the power of specialization to transform patient outcomes, about the courage to build something that does not yet exist, and about one clinic's determination to ensure that no Indian patient should ever be turned away from expert anorectal care simply because the specialty wasn't there. Under Dr. Ashwin Porwal's vision, it is now and it is here to stay.
Dr Ashwin Porwal
Healing Hands Clinic
info@healinghandsclinic.co.in
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