Manipal Hospitals

From the first visit itself, Dr. Sneha had made my husband and me so comfortable and reassured that we were certain of being in the right hands. We were so pleasantly amazed at her immense patience for answering the long list of questions and doubts that we had. In each and every visit, she made sure of prodding us to ask all our doubts and share all our concerns. She repeatedly asked "what else" to ensure that we left her cabin only after asking evey single thing that might have been bothering us. She is so approachable that we never hesitated from asking even the silliest of questions. She also shared her email ID and her number towards the end to ensure that we can reach out in case of anything urgent or just to clarify any doubts or seek reassurance. She was always so prompt in responding to our queries that it further helped reduce our anxiety, knowing that help is just a text away.

During pregnancy, when things seem so uncertain and confusing, having someone to provide reassurance, explain things and lend a sympathetic ear is something for which we can't be grateful enough.

From the first day, Dr. Sneha made sure that my husband was treated as an equal partner in this journey, and was not made to feel excluded at all. This is something that is still not a norm sadly. We were really relieved at her approach as it was really important for us to share the experience and be there for each other every step of the way.

Dr. Sneha never made us feel like we were just another patient, she would always remember our names and would greet us like a friend.

My pregnancy was a high risk case and there were a lot of complications. Dr. Sneha deftly handled all the issues and was really quick in identifying and addressing the concerns. Because of her quick decision making we were able to avoid adverse effects of a complication that I developed in the 37th week.

She also tried her best to ensure that we could go for a vaginal delivery, only when it was no longer feasible because of the complications, she counselled us to consider a planned c-section.

The actual day of the delivery, the experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. Dr. Sneha allowed my husband to be there in the OT during the c-section, holding my hands as we welcomed our baby in this world. I can't express in words how much that helped soothe my nerves and helped me overcome all the fear and anxiety that I had before the surgery. The experience was further enhanced as our baby was brought into the world to the tunes of soulful songs that ma'am was playing during the operation. I can't believe that even I was singing along during the operation, ma'am was so happy when she noticed me singing! I still get amazed that I was having a discussion with her regarding the movie that a particular song belonged to during my c-section!

Post the procedure as well, ma'am took a lot of care to ensure that I was completely recovered and there wasn't any discomfort or potential issue remaining unidentified and unaddressed. She was also there during the discharge to participate in the cake cutting ceremony. She truly helped us feel cared for and this didn't feel like just a professional relationship but a cherished relationship built on care, trust and respect. Thanks a lot ma'am for making our journey so beautiful despite the multiple bumps that we encountered on the way.

Dr. Shafalika SB is one of the kindest and most empathetic doctors I have ever come across (and coming from a family of doctors, that says a lot!). She is an expert in laparoscopic gynaecological surgeries and her skill and competence ensures successful minimally invasive surgery resulting in greatly reduced recovery timelines.

I first start consulting Dr Shafalika at Manipal (then Columbia Asia), Yeshwanthpur in 2019. I had heavy and painful periods + gastro problems triggered by periods. The scan confirmed the presence of multiple fibroids as well as adenomyosis (thick uterine lining).

Although Dr Shafalika is a surgeon, she will never advise surgery as the first course of treatment and only when absolutely necessary. Dr. told me I will eventually have to be operated but did not want to operate then. She broke the news to me with extreme kindness and compassion and put me on oral medications to try and suppress symptoms. The oral meds worked for some time but after a few months, I started getting severe migraines. I had moved to the other end of Bangalore by then and did not meet the doctor for my follow up appointment which was due in Feb 2020 due to work related travel. After that, the pandemic started and my visit was delayed greatly (due to my over-indexation on Covid).

I went back to meet the doctor after getting severe period cramps and gastritis in Jan, 2022. Again, she answered all my queries with patience and grace and did not rush me towards surgery although we both knew that was inevitable. When I was mentally ready, I went back and got my surgery done by her in June 2022. She ensured I was comfortable and as I didn’t have insurance, she did her best to reduce the cost of the procedure. It was a complex surgery but Dr. Shafalika was very confident that she would be able to handle it laparoscopically (and she did)!

On the day of the procedure, she arrived early and held my hand throughout the administration of general anaesthesia. She also reassured me wrt to the queries and concerns I had. During surgery, it was determined that I also had a bad case of endometriosis. At the hands of a lesser skilled surgeon, there was every possibility that my surgery would shift to an “open” one. But Dr. Shafalika managed to conduct the same laparoscopically.

While at the hospital, I saw how well respected she was among her colleagues at Manipal (and deservedly so). She even came to meet me on a Sunday, the day after my operation!

My post-surgical follow up with the doctor has been equally pleasant and efficient. In the follow up meeting, she again spent a fair amount of time with me and addressed all my queries. There is always a long queue of patients outside her office (some from out of town), but she never rushes you. It is easy for a doctor to become clinical as this is routine work for them, but Dr. Shafalika knows that while she has many patients; for the patient, she is the only doctor! 

I developed a UTI infection post surgery and the doctor has been helping me address that very efficiently through telephonic consultation via her assistant, Nimisha. Nimisha is also a very kind and helpful person and enables access to Dr. Shafalika as needed. This is super helpful as I live 2.5 hours away.

I have been so impressed with Dr. Shafalika’s work ethic as well as care and concern for her patients, that I have recommended her to my neighbour who is evaluating similar surgery.

I no longer have to plan my life around my menstrual cycle. And am so glad I met Dr. Shafalika and got the procedure done in her able hands and care. Thank you doctor! You are a beacon of compassion and competence – a very rare combination indeed.

We flew in from the UK to give birth to our child in India at week 32 of our pregnancy. Before we came to Bengaluru, we did a few checks on doctors and decided that we were to meet her. We have to say that it was probably the best decision we have ever made to choose Dr. Sneha.

At our first appointment, she waited for us close to 20 minutes without any fuss as we were running late and within the first 15 minutes of talking to her we knew that she was going to be our doctor on our pregnancy journey hereafter. We did visit another doctor, who we absolutely did not like, after we spoke to Dr. Sneha but we very well knew who we were going for in our journey.

Dr. Sneha patiently listened to everything that we had to say for 45 minutes at our first appointment before talking about her perspective. That is very commendable.

On all our subsequent appointments, we spoke about the journey and everything else very casually, shared a bit of humour and fun to take the stress away of the impending birth for us. It was quite refreshing for both the doctor and for ourselves.

There was no unnecessary advice, pointless checks or tests and her dedication to do a normal delivery is something I have not heard about much in India. She recommended a handful of very useful things for us and explained clearly why she was doing so. We saw the results of that rather quickly.

Not only was she our doctor, she is also very dear to us because of her charisma, friendliness and impeccable character. She ensured that both of us were not stressed in any way throughout our checkups and also on the day of birth.

When my partner went into active labour suddenly, she was constantly reachable and ensured that everything proceeded on her instructions despite her not immediately being there.

To give a snippet of our day of labour, Dr. Sneha met with an accident while on the way to to the hospital to deal with us. Despite that, she got herself to the labour room with a properly bruised shin, limping because she wanted to somehow deliver our child. She continuously worked for 6 hours straight and did everything she could possibly do to give birth to our son vaginally.

She had already accepted our birth plan in a very reasonable manner and was very open about me being beside my partner during the birth. She was very clear, early on, on what was possible and what wasn't during the procedure.

No other doctor, I'm sure, would have done that because the baby had pooped quite a bit of meconium (Grade III) and it was meant to be a classic case of an emergency C section.

Dr. Sneha was very clear that as long as the fetal heart rate did not drop, she was going to do everything in her power to do a natural birth. There were various complications like the cord being wrapped around the baby's head and the baby being much bigger than expected.

Not only she took care of the birth so well but also my partner after strenuous labour. She checked on us frequently during our stay in the hospital and ensured that we felt comfortable and were clear on the recovery stages.

I cannot recommend her enough for any pregnancy or birth related consultations irrespective of where you are located in Bengaluru.

Thank you Dr. Sneha for helping us with the mental strength to get through what was a very tough birth for my partner.

#longreviewalertI was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriotic cyst in my left ovary along with adenomyosis in the uterus about 3 years ago. Started off with medication that didn’t help at all. I had severe Dysmenorrhea and would take 5-6 pain killers per menstrual cycle. I tried to get pregnant but that didn’t happen too. My symptoms grew worse. It started affecting my daily quality of life. For the next 1 year I kept running from doctor to doctor trying to get a solution to my problem and plan a way for me to get pregnant. After running from pillar to post and after 1 failed laparoscopy surgery by another doctor (owing to the fact that my case was very complicated) I had almost reached a dead end, just then through sheer luck I was referred to Dr. Shafalika SB. I was all the way in abroad back then. That first telephonic call with her changed my very life. Given the fact that I had met so many doctors by then, I had never come across a doctor like her ever before. The way she spoke to me over the call, calmed me down like a mother would and empathized and acknowledged the suffering that I was going through was enough to take half of my anxiety away. The confidence that she spoke with, clearly explained me all the details and the steps ahead; She had a clear plan of treatment for me. Whilst I was abroad, whatever doubts I had she would patiently reply to them over whatsapp (despite having such a hectic schedule). She is an incredible person besides being a highly experienced doctor!The surgery was scheduled in April. I had too many apprehensions in my mind due to a failed laparoscopy surgery that I had undergone a few months ago (in abroad). After meeting Dr. Shafalika in person, she clearly took me through the entire condition once again, clearly explained the steps of the procedure and told me the possible outcomes of the procedure. My surgery was extremely complicated one as I had a frozen pelvis (the ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, rectum were all plastered to the uterus, the adenomyosis had spread to the entire uterus, the uterus had reached 20 weeks size). It was going to be a challenge and highly risky to separate the organs from one another and then remove the cysts. I was well informed about everything. With a doctor with such a foresight and confidence, I took the leap of faith. Inside the OT, as soon as I saw her, my anxiety disappeared. She held my hand, smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m there with you. I’ll try my best”. And with that I drifted into a sweet sleep.They say prayers have immense strength in them. 4 hours later, Dr. Shafalika came out victorious, smiling and in content with the success of the surgery. She was literally god sent! What seemed highly risky and complicated in the beginning was a success now. Dr. Shafalika was able to successfully remove the endometriotic cyst along with the adenomyosis despite the various complications. Having such experience and expertise, you can close your eyes and trust her. Here I am, writing this review because I want every woman out there like me to be able to get help. I shall forever be indebted to her.Dr. Shafalika SB is a gem of a person, highly experienced gynecologist and laparoscopic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery and one of the best doctors that I have ever come across. I would highly recommend her to everyone.