Rod In BUT dAnger Out !

AIIMS doctors work a miracle
Risha Chitlangia | TNN

New Delhi: The doctors who performed the “miracle” of saving the life of Supratim Dutta had never seen such a case. The 23-year-old executive was brought to AIIMS trauma centre with a fivefoot-long iron angle, weighing 6 kg, pierced through his chest. The case posed challenges from the beginning and was delicate right till the end. But the surgeons were equal to the task — and Supratim lived to tell the tale.

“In my 35-year long career, this is the first time I have see a case like this,” said Dr M C Misra, chief of Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS, while briefing the media about case. So was it for most of the doctors who operated on Dutta after he met with a car accident on July 12.

The iron angle which impaled him had pierced through the car’s bonnet and dashboard. The surgery itself took 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete, and almost another 3 hours to wind up the procedure.
“I was shocked to see him. He was on the stretcher holding the iron angle. Groaning in pain, he kept asking people to move aside so that the angle wasn’t disturbed. His blood pressure, pulse etc were normal though he was having difficulty in breathing,” said Tej Prakash, senior resident.

The iron angle had pierced through his liver, stomach, spleen, left lung and perforated the upper part of the diaphragm at two places and come out by breaking the 10th rib of Dutta’s back. “The heart rests on the diaphragm and the iron angle missed the heart by a few millimetres. He is really lucky. The spleen was badly damaged and we had to take it out. Luckily, Dutta had a extra small spleen, which we left inside,” said Dr Sushma Sagar, one of the surgeons. MIRACULOUS SURVIVOR Datta’s case posed challenges to docs

When 23-year-old executive Supradim Datta was brought to the AIIMS trauma centre with a five-foot-long iron angle pierced right through his chest, it posed serious challenges to doctors. They couldn’t do any of the crucial diagnostic tests, like X-ray and CT scan. “Time was running out and we couldn’t wait for diagnostic tests. Anyway, a CT scan was just not possible with a five-foot angle stuck across his upper abdomen,” said Dr Biplab Mishra, one of the operating surgeons.

Without these tests, the doctors had to guess the extent of internal damage and the organs affected. “Usually, these diagnostic tests help us in deciding the course of surgery, but in this case we had to proceed without knowing for sure which organs were involved,” Dr Mishra added. Dutta was brought to the hospital at 7.40 am, nearly one-and-half-hours after the accident. By 8.10 am, doctors had rolled him inside the operation theatre. The first incision was carried out at 9 am.

The biggest challenge was to anaesthetize Dutta. The angle was so placed
that the doctors couldn’t make him lie down on the table.

“In this case, anaesthesia was given with him in a sitting position and without knowing whether any main blood vessel was damaged or not,” said Dr Chhavi Sawhney, assistant professor, anaesthesia. Instead of taking the conventional approach — entering through the abdominal cavity or by cutting the breastbone open — the doctors decided to cut Supratim from the left side. Dr Biplab Mishra said, “A movement backward or forward would have caused more damage. So we decided to cut him from the side. After making the incision, we had to cut three of his ribs to enter the area where the angle was lodged.

Then we carefully opened the diaphragm and made a passage to pull the angle. It took us just 15 minutes to pull the rod in one piece. But as the rod had caused a lot of damage to the other vital organs, we took three hours to repair the damage. We fixed the ribs with wires.”
Doctors say that Dutta is recovering and can walk, but they are taking a lot of precautions as his spleen has been removed and he is prone to contracting infections. TNN



MEDICAL RECORD: Supratim Dutta was brought to the hospital with an iron angle inside his body

Source : TIMES OF INDIA

Jett(a) , Set , Go!

Volkswagen today launched its D-segment challenger the Jetta. Endowed with the typical understated but elegant Volkswagen design elements, Jetta will come with two engine options - 1.6L petrol and 1.9L diesel. The 1.6L petrol engine develops 102PS of peak power and 148Nm of max torque.It is touted to achieve a top speed of 186 kmph and 0-100 acceleration time of a little over 12 seconds (petrol version). The 1.9L 'pump Duse' diesel engine cranks out 105PS of max power and 250Nm of peak torque which is available from 1900 rpm-accelerating from 0-100 in 11.8 seconds .The Jetta is available with either a six speed DSG automatic gearbox or a 5 speed manual.
Safety features include 6 Airbags and a host of electronic aids like ABS(anti lock braking system) and ESP (Electronic stability program) as standard fitment.
Prices range from 13 lakhs in the baseline petrol version to 16.5 lakhs for the top level diesel model.Volkswagen plans to sell about 1200 Jettas this year.

Ready To Race - TVS RTR 160 Fi

TVS's flagship model is now fuel injected.New features in this model include a new tank cowl, pin-striping on the wheels. new racing stickers and provisions for displaying the last three 0-60 timings) .Now available at a very competetive price in showrooms in yellow, orange and matt grey colors. So if 'Ripping-The-Road' or 'Raving-To-Race' is what you wish, head to the nearest TVS showrrom now :) . As the tagline for the Apache goes "Its now or never!"

The 160cc bike is priced at Rs. 64,990 (ex- Delhi)

H. S. Goindi, Head, Marketing, TVS Motor Company, launching Apache RTR FI motorcycle in New Delhi on Monday.NEW DELHI: TVS Motor Company on Monday unveiled the advanced version of its bike ‘Apache’, a move aimed at consolidating its position in the premium segment. Priced at Rs. 64,990 (ex-showroom, Delhi), the new 160cc ‘Apache RTR FI’ comes with a 15.7 bhp fuel injected engine.Better fuel efficiencyAddressing a press conference here, H. S. Goindi, Head (Marketing) said the fuel injection technology deployed in the new bike gives better fuel efficiency and crisper throttle response. The company plans to sell 12,000 units of Apache bikes in the current fiscal.Stating that the Chennai-based company was aiming at strengthening its presence in the premium segment with this launch, Mr. Goindi said that TVS Motor would introduce two more products in this segment by the end of 2008.“We hope to grow by 15-20 per cent this fiscal to touch sales of 15 lakh units and increase our market share from 16 per cent to 18 per cent by March 2008. The worst is over for bikes as the industry has started gaining momentum at about 10-15 per cent after last year’s slump,” he added.Export strategyTalking about the company’s export strategy, Mr. Goindi said they hoped exports to grow by 40 per cent this year.Apart from 53 countries to which the company exports its products, it was also looking at new markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The company’s plant in Indonesia would be playing a role in it, he added.

Source: The Hindu , Chennai edition

the red slip

China invites Sonia, dumps Manmohan for 2008 Olympics
TIMES NEWS NETWORK


New Delhi: Eighty heads of state and government will grace the Beijing Olympics in August but PM Manmohan Singh will not be among them. Not because he is too busy, but because he was not invited. In fact, neither India’s head of state nor government have been invited, with the invitation going to its most important politician, Sonia Gandhi.

The Congress chief is unlikely to attend, leaving that job to sports minister M S Gill. In October 2007, when Sonia visited Beijing, she received a welcome fit for a head of state. It raised eyebrows in India because it showed where the Chinese government was focusing its attention. It was then that the Chinese leadership first extended an invitation to her to attend the Bejing Olympics.
Although the government was the first to deny it, the scale of Sonia’s visit prompted a delay in the prime minister’s visit to Beijing. He was initially supposed to make his summit visit at the end of 2007, but this had to be pushed to the new calendar year.

In 2008, the Beijing Olympics acquired a distinct political hue with the Tibetan protests. Consequently, India-China ties took on a strained look, made worse by China’s repeated incursions in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. China’s internal troubles did not stop it from keeping the Indian government is a state of permanent squirm – first with repeated claims to Arunachal and then by incursions into Sikkim. In fact, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee was faced with a sudden cancellation of his meeting with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.

Also by this time, China had invited pretty much every world leader to the Olympics, but remained silent on India. India wasn’t on the first list, or the second. While the Chinese government has invited the who’s who in terms of heads of government to the Games, in the case of India, it made a clear distinction between the head of government and the most powerful politician.

In the summer of 1994...

“Oh no, not again.”

Those were the words on everyone’s mind in Italy, near the town of Imola, and, in fact, around the world. Triple World Champion Ayrton Senna had just crashed his Williams-Renault at the infamous Tamburello corner at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. And he had crashed hard.
It was Sunday, May 1, 1994, and Formula One was having a black, black weekend. Just the day before the sport had experienced it’s first fatal accident in twelve years. During qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix, the third race of the 1994 World Championship, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger had crashed his Simtek-Ford at the Villeneuve kink. A part of his front wing had broken off due to damage suffered on the previous lap. The loss of downforce caused the driver to fail navigating the next corner. Ratzenberger’s car rocketed into a concrete wall at over 310 km/h. Wings, radiators, wheels and hundreds of other parts were violently ripped off the car on impact, and Ratzenberger, a rookie in only his third Grand Prix weekend, died.
Ayrton Senna had watched the accident on the closed-circuit TV screen in his Williams pit box. He didn’t like what he saw — instantly knew something had to be very wrong as Ratzenberger’s helmet leaned onto the side of the cockpit. With the Simtek in the middle of the track, a red flag was shown, indicating that the qualifying session had been interrupted. Senna summoned the Safety Car driver to take him to Villeneuve corner, demonstrating his concern with the matter. Rescue marshals at the scene soon realised Ratzenberger was beyond help. The 33-year-old was flown to nearby Maggiore hospital in Bologna, where he was pronounced dead only minutes after arriving.

Ratzenberger’s accident wasn’t the only ferocious accident that weekend, though. On Friday, during practice, Rubens Barrichello had suffered a major impact with the track fencing in his Jordan-Hart. The Brazilian had entered the penultimate corner much, much faster than usual, touching the kerbs on the inside of the chicane, moving him off course to make the corner. At 225 km/h the Jordan careered off the track, clearing the tire walls and hitting the fence. The car disintegrated, somersaulted, and landed upside down — its driver injured and about to swallow his tongue. Formula One’s medical officer, professor Sid Watkins, prevented this from happening, thus saving Barrichello’s life. The young Brazilian escaped with only a broken nose and wrist, returning to the paddock the next day, and racing again in the next Grand Prix at Monaco, two weeks later.
And sadly, even that wasn’t all, because at the start of the race, J.J. Lehto stalled his Benetton-Ford. And, while as many as sixteen cars missed the Finn, Pedro Lamy found his view blocked by the other drivers, brutally colliding with the stationary Benetton. Wreckage of the cars was launched over the debris fences and into the grandstand, injuring as many as nine spectators. With the main straight in disarray, race control decided to send out the Safety Car. It would curb the field for a few laps to allow marshals to clean up the shards of the accident.
After all debris from the start line collision had been cleared, the drivers were sent off once more. Senna led the pack, having started from pole position, but was closely followed by Michael Schumacher. Then, disaster struck once more. On lap 6, Senna’s car went straight on at the infamous Tamburello corner. And while a narrow strip of tarmac run-off slowed down the Williams-Renault from over 300 km/h, it crashed into the concrete wall at 218 km/h. Immense forces tore the car apart, and it bounced back onto the circuit, with parts flying through the air. Senna slid to a halt beside the track, and, like the Brazilian had witnessed a day earlier at Ratzenberger’s crash, now his own helmet leaned on the side of his cockpit. And didn’t move again.

source : http://www.encounterdownunder.com/story/prologue/

THINK HUMANE, TEACH INDIA

The Teach India initiative from the Times of India stable is a laudable effort. This is on two counts. The first, is the idea to do something about an issue which it reported in one of its stories as very grave – the shortage of teachers in primary schools. They newspaper did not stop with that, they went on to implement and take the initiative which most of us rarely do. All the armchair critics like us are contend at brandishing in elaborate terms what's missing but never make that one step in the direction of the journey that will take our progress forward by 1000 miles. The newspaper however did both, created an awareness and then went on to take the necessary step to make an effort to put things in the right path. It is not a mere campaign or a propaganda but a concerted effort with the idea of making India better.

Those of you who can read this piece and the writer are very fortunate to be among a microscopic minority who have been blessed to have the opportunity to receive education at a very sophisticated level compared to the poor children on streets with tattered clothes and hungry stomachs dreaming to get past the present day with at least one square meal. The opportunities and the benefits we enjoy today can be linked directly to our education. In fact, education is the backbone of the rise of the “The great Indian middle class'.

Most of the our active hours of our days are spent brooding on questions like “why me?”, “Oh not again” and the ideas that seem to suggest anything that our lives are perplexing miseries. That will not be the case if we care to think about the crores of unfortunate and economically downtrodden tiny tots forced to work like animals in match factories and other such appalling work conditions. If we take time to reflect upon those below us, even the most self-centered amongst us will know that we are indeed living in a heaven and we can make it a hell only by our illogical thought process. Given the situation, it is but obligatory on our part to respond to the call of the society to spend a minimum amount of time to at least make this initiative known to the people if not be an active part of it. Click here to know the more about it.

motoring madness...

MUSINGS OF A MOTORCYCLIST...
WHAT IS IT, THAT I FEAR IN INDIA??THIS,I FEAR THE MOST-

MY MOTHERLAND'S ROADS ARE RUN OVER BY MUDEROUS MALEVOLENT MARAUDERS- MASQUERADING AS MANY MILD-MANNERED MOTORISTS...WITH THEIR MANIACAL,MEANDERING AND MALFUNCTIONING MONSTROSITIES(OR SO- CALLED MACHINES) CAUSING MINDLESS MAYHEM ON THE MYRIAD OF MAZES THAT WERE ONCE MAGNIFICENT MOTORWAYS...MISUSING AND MAKING A MOCKERY OF IT..IS THERE NO MOTIVATION TO PUT AN END TO THIS MELEE AND MADNESS? I FEEL MOST MOROSE WHEN I THINK OF THIS MENACING BUT NEVERTHELESS MORBID SITUATION...I PRAY TO THE MIGHTY MAKER "MAY YOU HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULS...."