Dr. Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal

Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal is a highly distinguished Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Intensivist with 10 years of specialised clinical experience, currently practising at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri West, Mumbai.

Demonstrating immense clinical expertise, she specialises in paediatric cardiac intensive care, advanced ventilation therapies, and critical post-transplant management.

Her highly authoritative knowledge—backed by international fellowships from The Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto) and Western University (London, Canada)—ensures that critically ill children receive the safest, most advanced life-saving medical interventions available today.

Building on an exceptionally robust academic foundation, Dr Kushal holds a DNB in Paediatrics and multiple prestigious fellowships in critical care medicine (FPIC, IFPCCM, FCCM).

As a highly trusted intensive care specialist, she possesses extensive hands-on expertise in managing severe life-threatening conditions using advanced Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs).

She consults fluently in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu, ensuring clear, empathetic communication and rapid medical decision-making for anxious parents during critical emergencies.

Specialty Areas and Treatments

Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal provides advanced intensive care for critically ill children, focusing on complex cardiac monitoring, life-support interventions, and severe respiratory management.

Paediatric Cardiac Intensive Care

Dr Kushal offers rapid, life-saving clinical management for severe heart emergencies, safely treating conditions such as severe congenital heart defects, complex post-operative heart failure, and life-threatening paediatric arrhythmias.

• Advanced Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): Highly critical, temporary mechanical support that safely takes over the function of the heart and lungs in children suffering from severe cardiac or respiratory failure.
• Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Management: Precise medical management of advanced mechanical pumps (such as Berlin, HeartMate 3, and Impella) to safely support severe, failing paediatric hearts.

Advanced Paediatric Ventilation

Dr Kushal provides comprehensive respiratory life support for severe lung disorders, managing conditions such as severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), chronic lung failure, and severe paediatric pneumonia.

• High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV): Highly advanced, lung-protective mechanical ventilation used to safely deliver extremely rapid, small breaths to critically ill infants with severe lung collapse.
• Advanced Tracheal Airway Intubations: Precise, highly skilled insertion of breathing tubes to safely secure the airways of critically ill children requiring immediate mechanical ventilation.

Critical Care and Solid Organ Transplant

Dr Kushal expertly manages severe post-surgical complications, treating life-threatening conditions such as severe organ failure following complex heart, lung, liver, or renal transplants.

• Advanced Renal Replacement Therapy: Highly monitored, continuous blood purification techniques used to safely manage severe acute kidney injury in critically ill paediatric patients.
• Highly Monitored Post-Transplant Intensive Care: Precise, round-the-clock medical monitoring and immunosuppressive management to safely prevent organ rejection and life-threatening infections in transplant recipients.

Advanced Diagnostic and Invasive Procedures

Dr Kushal offers highly precise diagnostic interventions for complex critical illnesses, treating conditions such as severe unexplained respiratory distress, profound shock, and complex intracranial pressure issues.

• Paediatric Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS): Rapid, highly accurate bedside ultrasound imaging used to safely diagnose severe internal bleeding, heart dysfunction, or lung collapse in real-time.
• Diagnostic Paediatric Bronchoscopy: Precise, minimally invasive visualisation of the internal airways to safely diagnose severe blockages and rapidly clear life-threatening mucus plugs.

Credentials and Academic Foundation

Showcasing her dedication to continuous medical education, Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal possesses an exceptionally robust academic background in advanced global paediatric intensive care:

• MBBS from Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool
• DNB in Paediatrics from CSI Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysuru
• Fellowship in Paediatric Intensive Care (FPIC) from Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Bengaluru
• IFPCCM from Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bengaluru
• Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine (FCCM) from The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
• POCUS Fellowship from Western University, London, Canada

Professional Memberships

Dr Kushal holds active affiliations with several highly prestigious global and national paediatric organisations:

• Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP)
• Paediatric Intensive Care Chapter (PICC)
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)

Past Experience

With a highly focused decade of clinical experience, Dr Kushal has successfully managed thousands of severe paediatric emergencies across premier institutes in India, Canada, and the UK. Her professional journey includes:

• Consultant: Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai.
• Consultant: Apollo Hospital, Navi Mumbai.
• Consultant (Paediatric Cardiac Intensivist): Healing Little Hearts Foundation, London, UK.
• Consultant: Vivekananda Memorial Hospital (Tribal hospital in Nagarhole reserve forest).
• Senior Registrar: Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Bangalore.

Current Hospital Affiliations

She currently provides expert, life-saving paediatric intensive care at the following location in Mumbai:

• Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute, Andheri West, Mumbai. (Consultant - Paediatric Cardiac Intensivist)

Awards and Recognitions

Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal is widely recognised for her clinical precision and outstanding academic brilliance in the field of Paediatric Intensive Care. Her professional achievements include:

• Earning the highly prestigious Gold Medal in the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine.
• Being a formally Certified Simulation Facilitator from PediSTARS, India, actively contributing to the advanced training of medical professionals in emergency scenarios.

Medical Research and Publications

Dr Kushal maintains a remarkably strong commitment to academic advancement in the field of Paediatric Critical Care.

She has a special interest in nursing education and simulation-based training, actively conducting numerous academic activities to improve critical care outcomes.

By constantly updating her knowledge through international fellowships, she actively contributes to the evidence-based enhancement of modern paediatric intensive care protocols.

• Correlation of CRP with MPV in neonatal sepsis.
• COVID-19 preparedness in a tertiary care setting.

Book an Appointment with Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal, Paediatric Intensivist

For an expert Paediatric Intensive Care consultation, connect with HexaHealth to secure a priority appointment with Dr Ushanandini Dhagudu Kushal at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Andheri West, Mumbai.