The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

Heart & brain surgery a success
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 4
Renowned heart specialist Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, Senior Consultant, Fortis Heart Institute, SAS Nagar, has successfully tried a new surgical procedure to save the heart and brain through a procedure called retrograde coronary sinus perfusion for management of coexistent critical carotid stenosis and unstable coronary artery disease. It is the first operation of its kind to have been performed in the region.

The 65-year-old patient, Mr Surya Narayan Singh, who had come from Ghazipur, Varanasi, was rushed to the hospital after a heart attack. He was resuscitated and put on a mechanical ventilator. His circulation too had to be supported by an artificial heart. His angiography showed severe blockage in all three arteries and the brain arteries too had severe blockages. Despite being in such a critical condition, a brilliant use of common sense and expert medical knowledge of cardio-thoracic surgery, Dr Bedi was able to give a new lease of life to the patient.

Addressing a press conference today at the Fortis Heart Institute where this surgery was performed, Dr Bedi explained the entire procedure and stated that if the patient’s heart alone was operated upon the patient would have ended up with a massive brain stroke and paralysis. ‘‘However, in this case the condition of heart was such that it would have not tolerated the 10 minutes of clamping, that it takes to repair the brain artery. Any attempt to do the heart bypass was equally dangerous for the brain. So a new technique was devised in the nick of time to perfuse the heart while the brain operation was being performed,” he said. While the carotid endarteractomy was in progress, the need to keep the heart perfused was done by joining the unblocked portion of the patient’s aorta with an antegrade cadio-plegia cannula through a pressure line to the retrograde coronary sinus.

The entire operation which lasted for over seven hours, according to Dr Bedi, was one of the most satisfying operations he had conducted. Dr Bedi has performed over 3,000 open heart surgeries of various varieties independently and is also one of the pioneers in conducting beating heart surgeries in the world.

Commenting on the feat, Mr Shivinder Mohan Singh, Chief Operating Officer, of the institute, stated “the patient’s family had brought him in good time and our doctors were able to save his life.” Answering questions, he stated that Fortis were probably the most cost effective heart care institute in the region since an operation takes care of the problem once for all. ‘‘It is more cost effective to spend money on the operation rather that carrying on with expensive medication for years,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the patient who was sent home after just eight days of hospitalisation, is fast recouping and eternally thankful.

Narang heads Paediatrics Dept
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 4
The Department of Paediatrics, PGI, will now be headed by a PGI alumnus, Prof Anil Narang who replaced Prof Lata Kumar on March 31, 2002. He is a product of the PGI and has specialised in neonatology for which he had his training from the University of Oxford (UK).

He along with Prof O.N. Bhakhoo started the first ever DM (Neonatology) programme in the country. Dr Narang has been the former president of the National Neonatology Forum of India (NNF), is member of various decision-making bodies of the NNF, member of task force and SAG of the ICMR. He has vast administrative experience. He was also the coordinator of the Advanced Peadiatric Centre (APC) in phase I.

He heads the department at a time when the phase II of the APC has to be implemented. the centre would be the only centre of the country having well-established 9 specialities of Paediatrics, 10 research laboratories and a faculty strength of 42.

Prof Lata Kumar, former head of the department, passed on the mantle to Prof Narang after a distinguished career of over 30 years at the PGI. She had started the allergy clinic and got implemented of phase II of the APC.

SPORTS

Ankita, Shiva shine in tennis
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, April 4
Ankita and Shiva Sangwan both of Chandigarh entered the next round of the AITA North Zone Future Kids Camp-cum-Tennis Tournament played at the CLTA Stadium, Sector 10, here today.

Lakshit Sood and Chandril Sood, twins from Noida, also played well. In this six-day meet, children were given training as well as matches conducted as per the directions of the All-India Tennis Association. Children below 12 from the North are taking part.

Brief results are: In the girls’ category: Ankita (Chandigarh) b Megha (Delhi) 6-2; Inayat Khosla (Chandigarh) b Garima (UP) 6-0; Ankita (Chandigarh) b Garima (UP) 6-1; Inayat (Chandigarh) b Ankita (Chandigarh) 6-2; Megha (Delhi) b Palak (Chandigarh) 6-1; Inayat (Chandigarh) b Palak (Chandigarh) 6-2; Ankita (Chandigarh) b Shradha 6-3; Megha Rao b Shradha 6-4; Garimab Shradha 6-1; Inayat b Shradha 6-0; and Shradha b Palak 6-3.

In the boys’ category: group A: Shiva Sangwan (Chandigarh) b Akarsh Gupta (Haryana) 6-0; Lakshit Sood (UP) b Mandeep Singh (Chandigarh) 6-5; Shiva Sangwan (Chandigarh) b Karan Uday (Delhi) 6-0; Pulkit (Delhi) b Mandeep Singh (Chandigarh) 6-5; Karan Uday Singh (Delhi) b Akarsh Gupta (Haryana) 6-0; Pulkit Mishra (Delhi) b Akarsh Gupta (Haryana) 6-0; Mandeep Singh (Chandigarh) b Akarsh Gupta (Haryana) 6-0; Shiva Sangwan (Chandigarh) b Lakshit Sood (UP) 6-2; Shiva Sangwan (Chandigarh) b Mandeep Singh (Chandigarh) 6-1; and Pulkit Mishra (Delhi) b Lakshit Sood 6-1.

Group B: Rubal (Delhi) b Chandril Sood (UP) 6-0; Uday k Punia (Chandigarh) b Rajat (Haryana) 6-0; Uday K Punia (Chandigarh) b Subhash Chandra (Delhi) 6-0; Rubal (Delhi) b Arjun Sehgal (Chandigarh) 6-2; Chandril Sood (UP) b Rajat (Haryana) 6-2; Uday K Punia (Chandigarh) b Rubal (Delhi) 6-1; Chandril Sood (Delhi) b Rajat (Haryana) 6-2; Subash Chandra (Delhi) b Rajat (Haryana) 6-1; and Arjun Sehgal (Chandigarh) b Chandril Sood (UP) 6-4.

‘Mini tennis’

Total Tennis Academy, known for its innovative programmes in tennis, has launched ‘mini tennis’ for kids at YMCA, Sector 11, and Mount Carmel, Sector 47, according to Mr L.D. Kapoor, Director, TTA.

Cricket meet

Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, will organise a cricket bonanza in the school where top schools of the country like Woodstock Mussoorie, Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, Lawrence School, Sanawar, Punjab Public School, Nabha, RIMC, Dehra dun and YPS, SAS Nagar, are expected to participate.

According to Mr R.P. Devgan, a former Ranji player, the YPS has a long history of producing cricket players of repute namely Navjot Sidhu, Reetinder Sodhi, Ashutosh Kaushal and late Dhruv Pandove. He said Gaganinder Garry, Gulzarinder Singh Chahal and Reetinder Sodhi, all YPS students, had played in the World Under-15 Lombard Cricket Tournament held in England.

Trials

The trials for the Shivalik Academies in athletics, volleyball, hockey and basketball will be held tomorrow at 10 am at Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, here.

According to Dr D.S. Bedi, Director Principal of the school, the trainees in the age group up to 19 were eligible to take part in the trials which will be held on April 5 and 6. Mr Bedi said the academies would provide specialised training by the experienced Sports Authority of India coaches, free diet, education and other facilities from time to time. He said as a result of the hard work initiated by the trainees and the coaches, many trainees had reached the pinnacle of glory by playing for the country at the international level.

ADMINISTRATION

MC to spruce up bus-queue shelters
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 4
As many as 12 of city’s dilapidated bus-queue shelters and seven new ones have been given to the Municipal Corporation for development on build-operate-and-transfer basis with a modern design accommodating several facilities.

Proposal for seven other bus queue shelters was cleared at a meeting of Municipal Corporation officials which was led by the Commissioner, Mr M. P. Singh, Director Transport, Dr Amarpal and Ms. Renu Sehgal from the Chief Architect’s office here today.

A meeting has been scheduled for next week for clearing 83 more such shelters which will bring massive advertisement and licence fee revenue to the Municipal Corporation.

Locations and design of the shelters have been cleared in today’s meeting, official sources said.

Sites for such shelters are — behind Neelam Cinema, between filling stations (near football stadium) in sector 17; on V-4 road in Sector-18D market; on V-3 road between Sectors 23 and 24 in Sector 24; on V-3 road between sectors 36 and 37 in sector 36A; in front of SCOs along Chandigarh-Kalka road in pocket 6 in Mani Majra; on V-4 road near Guru Gobind Singh College; on V-4 road in Sector-27C; on V-3 road between Sectors 28 and 29; on V-4 road opposite SCF 70 in Sector-30C; on V-3 road between Sectors 14 and 15 and on V-4 road in Sector 23 market.

The new shelters will be constructed at — V-3 road between Sectors 40 and 41; V-4 road in sector 43; two shelters each in shopping areas in Sectors 44 and 46 and on V-3 between Sectors 47 and 48.

IT park site identified
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 4
The district will soon have a Software Technology park and an Information Technology Polytechnic as part of a drive to promote E-governance in the state and to computerise many other citizen-related frequently used government services.

This was stated here by the Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal, at a function organised for inaugurating Online Electoral Rolls or Web-Enabled Electoral Rolls for the Municipal Council, Panchkula. The significance of this software application is that it had been introduced for the first time in the country and would be followed in the rest of the state.

He informed that 3.5-acre plot had been identified for the Software Technology Park and a number of call centres for providing internet connections had been set up. He stressed that any new software which would be developed for the purpose of providing government facilities through Internet to the residents of the state , will be first tested and perfected in Panchkula.

Later, a presentation on WEER and its application was also organised to inform the people regarding its usage and benefits. This software was jointly developed by Mr Rajesh Jogpal, City Magistrate, Ms Surekha Ramsekhar, Director of National Informatics Technology Promotional Unit and Mr Sunil Kumar, Technical Director, NIC.

Among others present on the occasion included the Financial Commissioner, Information Technology, Mr Dharamvir, Commissioner and Secretary Urban Development, Mr Manik Sonawane, Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora and Administrator HUDA, Mr Arun Kumar Gupta.