How WIM Dr. Raghavi Vishnu Prasanna helped a boy eat his first meal after 18 years!
Raghavi Vishnu Prasanna is one of India’s most accomplished Woman International Masters in chess. A five-time national champion and Commonwealth silver medallist, she was once among the top ten women players in the country! But her journey is more than the chessboard. She always had a deep desire to heal, so she chose to become a doctor. She is Tamil Nadu’s first exclusive Laryngologist. She treats people with voice, airway, and swallowing problems at her Shri Vas Clinic in Chennai along with her colleague Dr. Arunima S. This article is the story of Mohan, who had never eaten a single meal by mouth for 18 years, until Dr. Raghavi cured him, and that too without any surgery!
From feeding tube to freedom
For most of us, eating is second nature — a daily act of nourishment, comfort, and connection. But for 18-year-old Mohan Raj, a 10th standard student, a simple meal was a lifelong impossibility. From the moment he was born, Mohan had never swallowed a bite of food. Born to a humble family in Tamil Nadu’s Ranipet district, Mohan is the son of a driver. His parents first noticed something was wrong when, as a newborn, he choked with every attempt to feed. What followed was an 18-year ordeal of recurrent aspirations, hospital admissions, specialist visits, failed surgeries, and tube feeding.
Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Mohan lived with a nasogastric tube—commonly known as a Ryle’s tube—threaded through his nose into his stomach. Every meal was delivered mechanically, bypassing the very act of swallowing. Even his saliva was difficult to manage, often leading to choking episodes and life-threatening aspirations.
While many around him grew up sharing meals, developing tastes, and enjoying food, Mohan grew up watching in silence, unable to participate, unable to explain the pain of something so basic denied to him since birth. At times, he even had to chew the food and spit it out just to enjoy the taste.
A Rare, Misunderstood Condition
Mohan's condition, idiopathic congenital cricopharyngeal spasm, is so rare that many healthcare providers have never seen it before. The cricopharyngeus muscle forms part of the upper esophageal sphincter—the gateway between the throat and food pipe. In Mohan's case, this gateway never opened. The result? Nothing could pass through. Not food. Not water. Not even saliva.
Though his parents did everything in their power, and Mohan underwent multiple hospitalizations and even surgeries, the real problem remained misdiagnosed. Until he met Dr. Raghavi Vishnu Prasanna, Tamil Nadu’s first exclusive laryngologist, and a specialist in a field that is just beginning to take root in the country.
A Turning Point
“When Mohan came to us, he had never eaten a single meal by mouth. Not once in 18 years,” says Dr. Raghavi. “He was shy, withdrawn, but his eyes said everything. He just wanted to eat like everyone else. He looked like just another normal kid, but with the tube through his nose.”
Raghavi, whose practice focuses solely on voice, swallowing, and airway disorders, performed a thorough evaluation using swallowing endoscopy and videofluoroscopic swallow studies — tools that have just emerged. The diagnosis was clear, and for the first time, Mohan had a name for his suffering: idiopathic congenital cricopharyngeal spasm. Rather than opting for another surgery, Raghavi charted a different course — a personalized swallow therapy protocol.
No knives. No anaesthesia. No hospital stay. Just the right therapy, guided by our understanding of laryngeal function - Dr. Raghavi.
The results were astonishing! Within three days, Mohan was able to swallow everything. The feeding tube was removed permanently. In a week, he was eating full meals.
Initially, he was frightened he might choke with every bite. It took him a couple of days to get over the shock and accept that he could eat normally. It was emotional. It wasn’t just about food — it was about freedom, dignity, and a return to something he’d never known before - Dr. Raghavi recalls.
Dr. Arunima, who also works as an exclusive laryngologist along with Raghavi, shares, “It brings us immense joy and sometimes even happy tears to watch patients like Mohan eat for the first time. Moments like these remind us why we do what we do.”
A Voice Found
Mohan’s story isn’t the only one that reveals the impact of laryngology. Another incident worth mentioning is of a young patient who had walked through the doors of Raghavi's Shri Vas Clinic — an 11-year-old boy from Bangladesh. He had lost his voice for over eight months.
His family had travelled across India seeking help. They had seen ENT surgeons, speech therapists, tried medications and therapies, but nothing worked. - says Dr. Raghavi.
The boy, who had once been active and talkative, had become withdrawn and anxious. Losing his voice had stolen more than just his ability to speak — it had affected his schooling, friendships, and self-esteem. At Shri Vas Clinic, Dr. Raghavi thoroughly examined him and she quickly identified the cause: functional aphonia, a condition where the voice is absent but the movement of the vocal cords is normal.
With a combination of visual feedback, therapy, and reassurance, we were able to stimulate his vocal cords to vibrate again. And within an hour, his voice came back. - She explained.
The moment he spoke, his parents cried. After months of silence, they heard their son speak again!
A Field That Needs Recognition
Dr. Raghavi’s work underscores the urgent need for awareness around laryngology, a super-specialty of ENT that addresses critical but often overlooked disorders such as long term feeding tube dependency, tracheostomy tube, voice loss, aspiration, and complex swallowing problems etc.
“Laryngology is still an emerging field in India, especially in Tamil Nadu,” she says. “Every week, I see patients who have been living with voice and swallowing disorders for years—some with tracheostomy tubes, others on lifelong feeding support—without knowing where to go. They don’t even know this field exists.”
Through Shri Vas Clinic, Dr. Raghavi offers a dedicated centre for patients with voice, airway, and swallowing issues, providing not just diagnostics but full rehabilitation. The clinic has state of the art facility which includes high definition endoscopy along with stroboscopy and I scan technology.
Last month, she organized VASCON Voice Marathon 2025, Tamil Nadu’s first dedicated conference on voice disorders. The event brought together experts from across the country to spotlight the science, therapy, and future of laryngology.
“Raising awareness is as important as treating. Many lives could change with timely diagnosis and specialized care,” she says.
It's truly amazing to see both Raghavi and Vishnu excelling in their fields with passion and dedication. Raghavi has been healing many lives through her medical expertise, while Vishnu has been transforming the lives of many chess players with his coaching. No wonder they are an inspiration for many.
This article is edited by Rasika Ratnaparkhi.
Important links
IM Saravanan on Raghavi's work