In the scorching summer of 1975, my elder sister, then in her 30s, fell seriously ill. Dissatisfied with the medical care she was receiving in Bhopal, we quickly moved her to Wardha, where my parents lived. Kasturba Hospital in Sevagram was still in its early stages back then. ๐๐ฟ. (๐ ๐) ๐ฃ. ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ, an Obstetrics and …
Hospital
Mahatma Gandhi’s Emergency Appendectomy: An Interesting Tale
Mahatma Gandhi’s Emergency Appendectomy: An Interesting Tale On January 12, 1924, Mahatma Gandhi underwent an emergency appendectomy at Sassoon Hospital in Pune. The story behind his operation is quite interesting. On January 8, 1924, Gandhiji experienced fever, abdominal pain, and nausea while in Yerawada jail. He was released and admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital …
Beyond Coffee: Uncovering the Charm of Sevagram’s India Coffee House
Have you had the pleasure of trying Domelette? It’s a delectable creationโan omelette perched atop a dosa. This delectable dish was quite popular amongst MGIMS medical students who craved something novel yet affordable and filling. In the golden days of the 70s and the 80s, it’s just one of the many mouthwatering delights you could …
Anaesthesiology
Unbelievable, but true. Robert Liston, a Scottish surgeon (1784-1847) practised orthopaedic surgery all over Britain. He obtained specialisation in amputations, practising in an era when anaesthesia was in infancy. Cutting and sawing on a conscious, screaming patient took strong nerves and a strong stomach. The shorter the operation, Liston thought, the lesser the pain the …
Super specialists
When I began practising Medicine at MGIMS, whenever I ran into a medical problem, which I thought I could not solve, I would seek a super specialistโs help. This indeed made sense. After all, their years of training and rich experience would help me order the best test, choose the drug that works or pick …
Information and Communication technology in Medicine
My talk in Pune…
iPad at the point of care
Smartphones and iPads are the future of medicine. In 2004 we introduced hospital information system in our teaching hospital. We realized that one day, we shall move from the desktops to the laptops, and subsequently to iPads and smartphones. Digital technology, to be effective, needs to be at the point of care. It cannot distance …
Violence in hospitals
Last week, a 50 year old previously healthy man died in our hospital following a massive stroke. The computed tomography scan showed that he had bled deep within his brain, the blood not letting the brain perform its functions. Death, especially sudden, evokes a medley of emotions- shock, denial, accusation, frustration, anger and grief. Not …
Are Indiaโs best hospitals Indiaโs best?
On 15 November 2009, The Week released its annual list of the countryโs best hospitals, ranked by various specialties like cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and paediatrics. The ranks are based on 14-city survey conducted by The Week in collaboration with IMRB, the market research agency, among 10 specialists across 10 specializations and 1190 general …
CAT has nine lives
Every few years, our CAT scan machine drops dead- only to purr again. Bought about 10 years back, the machine has scanned about 20,000 heads, chests and bellies. At times, for some inexplicable reasons, the CAT stands still- a CATastrophic event in the hospital. And as engineers-flown from Bangalore- lay their hands on the CAT …