JOIN US'Sparsh' to touch 200 lives
Co-patients Ganesh was overwhelmed by the media attention, while Vishalakshi spontaneously picked up the mike to sing. Besides them, Pramod, Fujin, Husna and Harish will also soon undergo orthopaedic surgeries.
Two hundred children from across India have been selected to undergo orthopaedic surgery free of cost by 30 specialist doctors and paramedics from across the globe, as part of ‘Sparsh Vachana’, an initiative by Sparsh Hospital here, launched on Monday. On day one of the initiative, 26 children underwent corrective surgery.
Hospital Medical Director Dr Sharan Patil said many of the selected 200 cases can be cured with surgery. “Though medical science has found a cure, many children in our society end up living with such medical conditions throughout their lives," said Dr Patil.
Sparsh Hospital had conducted elaborate screening camps in July when 200 children in the age group of 4-18 years from different parts of the country were selected for surgery.
Complex musculoskeletal abnormalities like Congenital Pseudoarthrosis of the Tibia, Club Foot Cerebral Plasy, Congenital dislocation of hips, Osteogenesis imperfecta, Gross deformity correction and Radion-ulnar synostosis will be corrected during the six-day mission.
According to Dr Sharan Patil, 27 per cent of the surgeries to be conducted are re-do surgeries where the patient previously underwent surgery in an inadequate manner. An estimated Rs 1 crore is the expenditure involved. Many of the patients will have to visit the hospital again for a follow-up surgery.
A team effort
Thirty paediatric orthopedic surgeons including Dr Ashok Johari from Mumbai and Dr James Fernandes from the UK, along with paramedic staff from across the world have come together for the purpose.
Students of Sheshadripuram College have donated blood for the surgeries. Sparsh Hospital has closed its OPD and shifted a few patients to other hospitals to facilitate the mission.
According to the 2001 census, 9,40,643 people live with disability in Karnataka and 51.40 pc of them are literate.
Role of contraceptive
“We need to educate young couples, who delay having children, on use of excessive birth control pills which later affect their children’s health in different ways,” said Medical Education Minister Ramachandra Gowda.