July 23, 2012 Clippings

Mohanlal wants to donate his organs

Superstar Mohanlal expressed his desire to donate his organs, citing the case of a school-girl who recovered from a severe liver disease because her aunt stepped forth to donate a slice of her own organ. He made his desire public while speaking at a function organised by the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) here to compliment the efforts of the woman, Rainy Joy, who donated part of her liver to save her 16-year-old niece Swathi.

“The return to life of Swathi, the school-girl, should open up the awareness of organ donations in the state and I wish to donate my organs too,” said Mohanlal. Swathi was admitted to the AIMS with liver complication two weeks ago after a severe hepatitis attack and the doctors found that her liver was damaged and she required an organ transplant.

Swathi’s mother could not donate owing to fatty liver problems and then her aunt volunteered. But as per the rules prevailing for organ transplant, only direct relatives can donate without documents. Any relative other than parents, spouse, children or direct siblings require clearance from the organ donation committee headed by the health secretary. At an emergency meeting called by State Health Minister V.S.Sivakumar, the permission was granted. Swathi underwent a liver transplant July 13 and is now returning to normalcy.

A four-member team of doctors at the AIMS, headed by Sudhindra Nath, performed the 12-hour-long surgery. Rainy Joy was also present on the occasion.

Source: http://health.india.com

23.07.2012

Over 100 fibroids removed from uterus via laparoscopy

When she arrived at the gynaecologist’s clinic, doctors thought Sheetal Patil*, 38, was in the ninth month of pregnancy. But the ultrasound told a shocking tale. Her protruding belly was, in fact, her uterus which had multiple fibroids.

Weighing 7.8kg — almost 500 times the weight of a normal uterus and heavier than the average newborn — the uterus with multiple fibroids measured 20cmx16cmx18cm.

“When she came to me, I thought she had come for delivery. I was shocked to hear that it was a fibroid problem and not pregnancy. An immediate removal of the uterus was a necessity,” said Dr Uddhav Raj, gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon, who, along with his team, performed the procedure on Patil at Sujoy hospital, Andheri.

Traditionally, a hysterectomy is performed through a large cut in the abdomen that involves blood loss and an extended recovery period. But Patil, who works in a multinational company, was afraid of open surgery and waited four years. “All the doctors she consulted suggested open surgery. She wanted a laparoscopy which is quiet challenging,” said Dr Raj and added, “Fibroids can cause discomfort, pain, excessive bleeding, and irregular periods, but in her case, she didn’t have any problem. However in the last few months, she started developing breathing problems as the fibroids became so huge, it started putting pressure on her diaphragm.”

The surgeons used a popular alternative procedure — laparoscopy — which causes little bleeding, post-operative trauma, and scarring. “The procedure lasted four and a half hours. Her abdomen was tight because of the size of the fibroids and there was no space for my instruments to enter. I had to inflate the abdomen a little with the help of needle that I introduced inside her body through the vagina,” said Dr Raj. According to the doctors, Patil had more than 100 fibroids. The patient lost no blood and was discharged within 36 hours, he said.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

23.07.2012

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it

Stan Smith