Medical Practice

Did I stir up a hornet’s nest when I tried to examine the benefits and harms of mammography? I’m  glad I did. I might have been less than generous in my remarks about mammography, but that does not diminish my unqualified admiration of those who believe that it works. I am happy that some of … Read more

Recently, I was part of a team that was caring for a woman with breast cancer. “Would I have fared better had I undergone mammography when I turned 50?”, she asked me. She is right because a neighbouring medical school is offering mammography on wheels—bringing technology to the doorsteps of rural women who cannot access … Read more

Dr (Mrs) Lata Patil —Samir Patil’s (MGIMS Class of 1993) mother—died this morning of metastatic cancer in a private facility at Nagpur after fighting malignancy for more than a year. She was 71. She is survived by her husband, Dr.SM Patil—the well-known physician and two children- both doctors. Dr (Mrs) Lata Patil taught me Medicine … Read more

One way to see the chorus of emergency angioplasty treatment of acute heart attack is with awe. Another is with utter frustration—because in most cases it is unnecessary- John Mandrola recently summed up beautifully. A 2014 population based study from Sweden (J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 64:1299-1306) shows that if people eat less, walk more, … Read more