NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville General Hospital is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Benedict Maliakkal to its growing list of specialized doctors. But please, you can call him Dr. Ben if his last name is too difficult for you.
A graduate of India’s esteemed St. John’s Medical College and with over 32 years of experience, Dr. Maliakkal brings his deep and wide range of expertise treating all types of liver disease, including autoimmune hepatitis, genetic metabolic liver disease, cholangitis and viral hepatitis, to Nashville area residents in need. As a previous director of hepatology and medical director of liver transplantation, he can manage patients with advanced cirrhosis both before and after transplantation.
Dr. Ben wants his patients to engage freely with him and be open to hearing about new avenues of treatment based on his knowledge and experience. “I provide them a lot of valuable information about their illness, right from the first visit, that they have never heard of previously,” he said. Patients are encouraged to ask questions during and even between visits so that they fully understand their diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
Dr. Ben believes in more than treatment, encouraging changes in lifestyle necessary for his patients to recover. This includes a good diet and exercise regimen for healthy weight loss, as well as cessation of alcohol and nicotine. “If they want, my patients can get help from me in all aspects of their medical care because I do take care of the patient as a whole person.”
His advanced studies and published works fuel his passion for individual care. “I love taking care of patients. And I love the challenge because I see many patients who are seeing multiple providers with no one taking ownership or acting as a quarterback. They come to me and I can fix that.” He added, “The most important thing for a patient is to come to see me with an open mind and no agenda except to get better. They must trust me 100% and within a short time they will realize that I will never betray their trust.”
Dr. Ben is a 24/7, two-way-street practitioner. “I’m a big believer in two-way communication,” he began. “Patients can text me, call me, send pictures of scans, lab reports, medication names. The more communication, the better. Especially for those with advanced liver disease, so that together we can prevent complications and hospitalization and improve quality of life.”
He is there for you, he emphasized. “They can call me in the evenings and on weekends and talk about medical issues between visits. I encourage that. So, it’s a little different from most other doctors. They can just call me on my cellphone. It’s that easy. My patients get the best care in the world.”
His treatment philosophy is simple; “90% of patients can be well managed by most doctors, but there’s always that 10% that can greatly benefit by seeing somebody like me. Sometimes just one visit for a second opinion can provide a patient the peace of mind without needing to go to big centers like the Mayo Clinic. This can save them a huge amount of cost and effort,” he said.
Dr. Ben offers every patient the same promise: “I will not leave any stone unturned in finding the right diagnosis and for precision management of their condition, tailored to the individual from a holistic standpoint,” he concluded.
Dr. Ben is accepting new patients at:
• Nashville Healthcare Center – Midtown,
1919 Charlotte Avenue, Suite 230, Nashville, TN 37203
• Nashville Healthcare Center – Main, 1818 Albion Street, First Floor,
Nashville, TN 37208 Ph: 615-340-4250, option #5
