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The Chattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo has written a letter to the Union Health Minister on various concerns over the supply of COVAXIN.The State Health Minister has also tweeted about the whole concern related to the absence of an expiration date on the vials of the vaccine.

TS Singh Deo@TS_SinghDeo·

Wrote to hon’ble union minister of health @drharshvardhan ji addressing the concern of Chhattisgarh govt regarding the supply of COVAXIN to the state. The primary concerns of the state are :

The absence of expiration date on the vials of the vaccine. I have requested him to halt the supply of COVAXIN to Chhattisgarh until these issues are addressed to the satisfaction of our Health Department to avoid the wastage of the early expiration doses of the drug.

The inhibitions regrading the incomplete 3rd phase trials of COVAXIN

Mumbai – A 42-year-old man rushed into the hospital with half of his left thumb completely cut and separated. The patient got an injury while he was cleaning the chain of his motor-bike, during cleaning the motor-bike his thumb was accidentally got amputated. The team of doctors reattached his thumb by performing microvascular surgery and reattached the chopped-off portion of the patient’s thumb.

“Rohan’s case is not an isolated incident. We get several cases of youngsters or bike enthusiasts who come for finger crush injuries, total or near-total amputations owing to bike chain related accidents. If people manage to preserve the amputated part and reach the hospital on time, we can reconstruct the digits or re-attach the detached fingers with the help of microvascular surgery.” said Dr. Nilesh G Satbhai, Head of Department – Plastic, Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery and Transplant Surgery, Global Hospitals, Mumbai

“All the important structures were dissected, identified, and prepared on both the patient side and the amputated part. The bones were fixed using a stainless-steel wire.  The blood vessels of the thumb (artery and veins) were then connected to each other to restore the blood circulation of the amputated part of the thumb. The blood vessels at this level are very tiny (often less than 1 mm in diameter). The threads (sutures) required to join these blood vessels are much thinner than human hair and are barely visible to naked eyes. Hence, such procedures can only be performed under the operating microscope. The nerves and tendons were then repaired. Reconstructive Microsurgery aims to restore the normal form and function of the body part to its maximum extent”, Dr. Nilesh Satbhai added

The pateint name is Rohan Ajgaonkar he is a resident of Vile Parle, a banker by profession, is an adventure enthusiast. He is passionate about riding and he usually ensures himself, that his bike is well maintained. Cleaning and lubricating the chain of his bike had been a part of his regular vehicle maintenance routine.

“During the bi-monthly cleaning of my bike which I do myself, I had my bike’s engine on. This resulted in the cleaning cloth getting stuck in the chain. As I tried to pull the cloth out my finger got trapped as well. I was stunned by the pain and sight of blood. However, on the ground, I saw the part of the thumb that had been cut off. A timely surgery performed by the hospital saved my thumb. I am thankful to the doctors who helped restore my quality of life this New Year. I advise bike lovers like me to be cautious while cleaning their vehicles or get it done from a professional,” said Rohan Ajgaonkar pointing out the risks untrained hands take when cleaning their vehicles.

The patient was monitored closely over the next week to ensure that the replanted thumb remained viable. Having recovered without any complications he was discharged after 1 week.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) affects differently on people to people , some have to go with mild symptoms and some with severe symptoms.

According to Dr. Nikhil Modi who is a Sr. Pulmonologist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said people are now coming with new symptoms like Diahorra, tiredness, headaches, skin rashes, and conjunctivitis.

The Indian Medical Association(IMA) will be doing webinar on February 12, “ADVOCACY AGAINST MIXOPATHY”

New Delhi – A multi-disciplinary team of doctors has treated an 18-month infant who was suffering from Trigonocephaly. A rare condition in which the shape of the front of the head is triangular, causing aesthetic and neuropsychological development defects. In such cases, the surgeries are challenging and it also requires pre-planning. This surgery is a cranio-facial surgery that was performed to correct the deformity by a team of doctors which is led by Dr. Sonal Gupta, Director, Neuro and Spine Surgery and Dr. Richie Gupta, Additional Director, Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery from Fortis Shalimar Hospital

The infant when came for the treatment was having a triangular-shaped appearance on the forehead and hypotelorism,“The infant presented with a triangular-shaped appearance on the forehead and hypotelorism (a condition in which, the eyes appear closer together than normal). Normally, the bones forming the skull are separated by joints called sutures, which also serve as centers of growth. These sutures fuse at set times after birth, one of the earliest being the suture between frontal bones, the metopic suture which obliterates between 3-9 months of age. An early sutural fusion results in a lack of skull growth in a direction perpendicular to the suture. However, the brain is still growing at a rapid rate during this period and needs space to do so. Therefore, the condition needed to be corrected, as it could hamper the neuro-psychological development of the child in addition to the obvious aesthetic defect.” said Dr Sonal Gupta 

“It was a complex surgery which took seven hours. To put an infant under anaesthesia for that long is a challenge. It was an intensive and precise process which would not have been possible without the support of the anaesthesiology team led by Dr Umesh Deshmukh (Director and HOD anaesthesiology). There was a risk of significant blood loss during the surgery, so multiple blood products were arranged. After the surgery, we shifted the patient to the ICU, where he stayed for 3 days under the care of Dr Amit Singh (Consultant Paediatric Critical Care). Post this period, he was shifted to the ward for 2 days and on the 6^th day he was discharged. Even though I had first met with this patient when he was only two months old, I chose not to the surgery immediately as it would not have yielded the desired results.” Dr Sonal Gupta adds

According to Dr Richie Gupta the cranio-facial surgery is needed to correct the deformity, “A cranio- facial approach was needed to correct the deformity. We fed the digital data from the patient’s 3DCT scan into the 3D printer to print two rapid prototype skull and upper face models, which were exact replicas of the patient’s skull. We worked on these to determine the exact site, dimensions, and angles of the osteotomies (bony cuts) on the patient’s skull. There was no scope for even the smallest of deviations as it could cause the child to go blind, bleed profusely, or even suffer from brain damage. To ensure that the actual surgery went off smoothly, we conducted the mock surgery on the 3D model of the skull a day prior.”

New Delhi -The Union Health Ministry and Family Welfare have decided to conduct the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) from this year twice, which is conducted once in a year, this information has been reported by The New Indian Express.

The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) is usually conducted in the first of May, but in last year it was delayed to 13 September.

According to the report by The New Indian Express in a recent meeting between the Ministry of Education and the National Testing Agency also discussed conducting online and offline examinations.

New Delhi – The Government of Delhi has reported no death first time in Delhi. The number of COVID-19 cases reported today in Delhi are 100.The positive cases percentage is 0.18% and total number of COVID-19 patients discharged is 144.

Mumbai:  Vedicure Healthcare and wellness, Andheri is finally back on its feet to treat patients with various conditions like Diabetes, Thyroid disorders, Infertility, high blood pressure, respiratory illnesses, skin and hair problems, and Bone-related problems such as joint pain, Weight management; all under one roof. The aim is to maintain the quality of life of the patients by helping them lead a healthy life.

Dr. Samudrika Patil, CEO, Vedicure Healthcare and Wellness said, “Vedicure uses a path-breaking technique handed down from generation to generation and practiced for 25 years, wherein the latest scientific advances and traditional wisdom of medicine is used to cure any ailment via a holistic approach. The clinic offers a wide range of therapies with the help of its well-educated, trained, and experienced doctors and professionals from various streams who, together are able to handle complicated cases. We believe in creating a patient-friendly environment by providing care and counseling to patients through rigorous follow-ups and personal attention. The personalized treatment plan is provided to the patients after assessing their health with the help of a thorough examination.”

It is also the need of the hour for the patients to take charge of their health by sticking to a healthy lifestyle even after seeking appropriate treatment and care. Try to make sure that you avoid indulging in unhealthy activities and instead find a balance that will lead to better health.

Dr. Patil also added, “Vedicure uses a wide range of healing modalities including Ayurveda, Panchakarma, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Yoga, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Diet and nutrition, and more. The right combination of these treatments provides a powerful and fast-acting healing experience. To date, our doctors have successfully treated about 27 lakh patients in the last 26 years and our aim remains to lead you to better health. 

By Dr. Tushar Grover

In a country which has the unenviable record of having the largest number of blind people in the world, Cataract has often been cited as being most responsible for this life-crippling ocular condition. With estimates attributing 50 to 80 percent of the bilateral blindness cases in India to cataract, this must be treated as a matter of utmost and even exigent concern. In fact, cataract is also said to be the biggest cause behind what is called avoidable blindness. Globally too, cataract is the single most important cause of blindness, and the second most common cause of moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI). 

What is cataract?

Cataract implies an eye condition which entails clouding of the lens in the eye which could occur on account of protein in the lens breaking down and clumping together leading to a blockage and weakness in vision. If not intervened at the opportune moment, it can even cause permanent blindness. Because it develops slowly, chances of being identified earlier is slim and as such it poses a silent threat to the long-term health of our eyes. It can occur in either one or both eyes. Some of the symptoms include blurry vision, sensitivity to bright lights, frequent perception of halos and rings around light entering the eye, dim and hazy colours, double vision or diplopia, frequent changing of power for glasses and lenses etc.

The relation between aging & cataract

Cataract typically is a result of aging. According to the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey India 2015-19, cataract is the leading cause of blindness in people above 50 years. It is behind 66.2% blindness cases, 80.7%severe visual impairment cases and 70.2 per cent moderate visual impairment cases in this age group. At the same time, cataract can also be caused by some eye disease or an injury. Importantly, some children are also congenitally cataract patients.

Non-eye related factors that aggravate the risk

While cataract is purely an ocular condition, there are certain non-eye related factors that aggravate the risk of getting this disease. For instance, if you expose your eyes excessively to the sun or any radiation without protection, you risk making things worse. Or if you have been taking steroids or if you are a smoker, the risk for getting cataract increases. At the same time, some non-communicable lifestyle diseases such as diabetes can also accelerate development of cataract.    

How does cataract impact your eyes?

In normal course, your vision slowly and progressively begins to weaken. Your day to day functioning of the eye increasingly becomes less efficient. If you fail to detect cataract at the right time and leave it untreated for long, it can lead to complications in the form of what is called hyper mature cataract. In this, the cortical material leaks through the capsule of the lens leaving the lens wrinkled and shrunken. This in turn, can lead to a rise in the pressures in the eye, leading to secondary glaucoma which may permanently impair vision. However, under normal circumstances, cataract surgery is performed easily without the need for patient’s admittance into the hospital and the patient can resume regular activities soon after the surgery.

Modes of treatment

In the early stages, regular eyeglasses can help. Lifestyle modification measures such as getting the room or the place better lighting, wearing anti-reflective glasses during night driving can help to a certain extent when the cataract is at an early stage of development. However, even after these measures if you are having difficulty in reading, or in driving or any regular household or official activity, you need to go for surgery. The most commonly performed surgery in the current times,  particularly in the urban areas is Phacoemulsification which can be done with or without the assistance of Femtosecond Laser for added precision. A safe and low cost alternative in the rural scenario is the Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (SICS).Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in India.

High number of cataract surgeries in the country

Importantly, more cataract surgeries are being conducted in India than the US, Europe and China put together.  According to National Health Profile 2019 issued by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, against a target of 6.6 million cataract operations, 6.4 million operations were conducted in the year 2017-18. While UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra were states where most operations were done, at 9.48 lakh, 7.8 lakh and 6.8 lakh respectively, some of the north-eastern states and other smaller states had recorded modest number of operations.

Barriers to care

As regards barriers to care, while cost has been one big barrier, lack of awareness is another major reason behind such high prevalence of cataract in the country. Also, poor infrastructure or non-availability of equipped operation theatre for ophthalmic microsurgery in rural and remote areas and the low presence of trained ophthalmologists in the country are other barriers to access care.

Therefore, while it is up to the healthcare authorities to improve infrastructure and mount awareness campaigns to address cataract, lay people should also be equally alert to this condition. That it is preventable and timely intervention can forestall blindness, a most debilitating life condition, must be uppermost in everyone’s minds. India has been a signatory to the World Health Organization resolution on Vision 2020 on The right to sight. We must strive to stay on the right course to meet those objectives.

The writer is Medical Director, Vision Eye Centre, New Delhi

New Delhi – In parliament on asking about shortage of doctors in India , the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan replied on the basis of data given by MCI that India has ratio of 1:1404.

“The total number of doctors in India are 12,01,354 allopathic registered doctors in India, they are registered under the State Medical Councils/Medical Council of India till 30th September 2019. It is estimated that around 9.61 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service. That means 1:1404 as per the current population estimate of 1.35 billion.” According to the WHO prescribed norms, the ratio of doctors is 1:1000.

However, on steps taken for increasing the MBBS seats the Union Health Minister, Dr.Harsh Vardhan said, “central government has taken several steps to increase the number of medical seats in the country. 29185 MBBS seats increased during the last five years.”