A new life to a three years old girl child

Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 11:59 AM 
Miracle by Dr William Bhatti's team at the CMC
Ludhiana, 6th March, 2013:(Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria): A 3 year old girl child, daughter of a labourer was suffering, with continuous pain in the lower abdomen and urinary infection for past threemonths. She was referred to the Department of Paediatric Surgery CMC and Hospital Ludhiana for further management. Investigations revealed that there was a 2.5 cms. long and 1.5 cms. thick,stone which was completely  obstructing the flow of urine from left kidney to urinary bladder and causing urinary infection and abdominal pain. Since there was no free flow of urine from kidney, there wasswelling and deterioration of kidney function with continuous abdominal pain.

Dr William Bhatti Professor and Head, Department of Paediatric Surgery and his teamdoctors, Dr N Bedi, Dr A Gupta and Dr S Dhuria, successfully performed laparoscopic removal of stone from the ureter. Theparents are happy as their daughter does not have a big operative scar on her abdomen and she is pain free because of the laparoscopic surgery. This type of operation, where the impacted stone at lower ureterovesical junction in a 3 year old child,was removed by laparoscopic operationis the first to be performed in India. So far this type of surgery has been done by open procedures which results in long scar marks and prolongedhospital stay. In laparoscopic surgery,the child will have 2-3 tiny scars of 5mm on their abdomen, with  less pain and shorter hospital stay as compared to open surgeries.

Dr William Bhatti further mentioned that presence of stones in urinary system is a common problem in children and it can be managed safely with laparoscopic operations. Parents should not ignore if their child complains of continuous abdominal pain and paediatric surgeons should be consulted immediately to prevent further complications.

The 8th National Stroke Conference Concluded

Delegates also attended from the SAARC countries 

                                                                                                                               Photos by Rector Kathuria

Ludhiana, 3rd March, 2013: (Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria) The 8th National Conference of Indian Stroke Association organised by the department of Neurology, Christian Medical College, Ludhiana concluded today. There were 300 delegates who attended the conference from all over India including 18 International faculty members. Delegates also attended from the SAARC countries like Bangladesh. Yesterday there was a banquet for the delegates at the The Grand Pearl Resort. Mr RandhirKanwal the famous Ghazal singer entertained the guests. The medical students also displayed their artistic talent with a Bhangra dance.

Dr Jeyaraj D Pandian, Professor and Head of Neurology at CMC Ludhiana, the organising Secretary mentioned that all the major advances in stroke diagnosis and treatments were discussed in the conference. On the last day a special session on research in stroke was held and delegates from across the world discussed about the on-going important stroke trials and projects. A Skills workshop on the use of Botulinum toxin injection in treating stiffness of arms and legs following stroke was also held on the last day.
Dr Pandian said that for the first time a separate stroke rehabilitation skills workshop was held as a parallel meeting in CMC auditorium as part of the National stroke conference. More than 150 delegates attended this workshop which was organised by Dr Santosh Mathangi. One of the main highlights of the conference was the Teaching course on stroke which was held on Day 1 for MBBS students as a separate event at CMC. Medical students from three colleges in Punjab participated in this course.Dr Pandian stated that overall the conference had a major impact on the local doctors, neurologists, neurosurgeons, undergraduate medical students, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and allied health trainees from across the country. This would improve the care and treatment of stroke patients.

5 days ultimatum for removal of property tax

Aam Aadmi Party staged a Dharna Rector Kathuria and SK Gogna

The Aam Aadmi party members today  outside the Corporation office and met  Municipal Commissioner Mr. Rakesh Verma to protest against the levying of the new property tax and have submitted an ultimatum of 5 days for removal of the tax in the district. The citizens of Ludhiana gathered in large numbers to support the Aam Aadmi party protest against 

Property tax.    

According to the District Secretary of Aam Aadmi Party Mr. Balbir Aggarwal, “The administration instead of focusing on providing better basic amenities to the people, is focusing on thinking up new means of imposing taxes and newer ways of corruption. Projects like removing encroachments from city roads and providing proper sanitation and good roads should be the priority of the local administration and not the desire to find new ways to burdenthe common man”.

Aam Aadmi members had a long meeting with the officials of the Corporation including the Municipal Commissioner in which they provided proofs of how public money was being pilfered and if the government stopped all that corruption it would have no need to impose new taxes on the Citizens of Ludhiana.

Aam Aadmi party members including District Convenor Mr. Harjot Singh, Mr. Balbir Aggarwal, Mr. Gulshan Kumar, Mr. Suresh Aggarwal, Mr. Bhupinder Singh, Mr. Mohit Mittal, Mr. Raman, Mr. Manjeet Singh, Mr. Ravinder Singh, Mr. Kanav Vats, Mr. Ajay Mittal and Mr. Raghuveer Singh thanked the people of Ludhiana for wholeheartedly supporting the protest against Property tax.

The Party Spokesman Dr. S. S. Butter informed that the party volunteers will be setting up awareness camps in most areas of the city to make people aware about this new tax and also launch an extensive signature campaign against it starting from tomorrow to try and force the District Administration to revoke its decision.

Imposition of Property Tax

Another achievement for CMC Stroke Unit

Awarded Indo-USA Brain Collaborative grant 

Ludhiana, 8th August, 2012. (Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria)The Stroke Unit of Christian Medical College, Ludhiana has received a 1.18crores grant from the department of Biotechnology, India and National Institute of Health, USA. Dr. Jeyaraj Durai Pandian, Professor and Head of Neurology is the receipient of this award. This grant money is to develop a National Stroke Registry between India and USA. Dr. Pandian is the Principal Investigator from India and Dr. Aneesh Singhal, Stroke program, Massachusetts General hospital, Boston (Harvard University) is the Principal Investigator from USA in this grant. Dr. Pandian said that this research grant will help India and USA to develop a common stroke database and do cross cultural studies. New information regarding various risk factors for stroke, clinical services for stroke and reasons for delay in treatment are some of the important parameters that will be studied in this research. The information on stroke will be collected from 4 other centers in the country besides CMC Ludhiana. They are PGIMER Chandigarh, AIIMS New Delhi, NIMS Hyderabad and SCTIMST Trivandrum.
Dr. Pandian stated that this research proposal was selected out of 72 grant applications. Dr. Yashpal Singh, Professor of Neurology said that this Indo-USA collaborative registry will collect data for the next 2 years and many sub-studies will be carried out once the stroke registry is established. Dr. Abraham G Thomas, Director, CMC lauded the efforts of the Neurology department in getting the grant.    

Achievemets: CMC city center compelets one year

A large number of patients benefited 

Ludhiana, 3st August, 2012:The CMC CITY CENTER was inaugurated on 01 st August last year at Sirish Hospital, Krishna Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, Ludhiana and had commenced functioning the very next day. During this one year, the CMC City Center through its Consultant Doctors has been able to provide its services to a large number of patients and citizens of Ludhiana.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Vijay Obed, Dy Director, explained that CMC City Center was started in response to the many requests from the citizens of Ludhiana from this part of the city, who found it difficult to approach CMC Hospital. The number of patients attending the OPD at the City Center has been steadily increasing. Patients find it very convenient to seek consultation from CMC Consultant Doctors at the City Center.
Dr Abraham Thomas, Director, CMCH, mentioned that CMC City Center, is a major step to get our services across the city to the citizens of Ludhiana for their convenience.  He was glad that the CMC City Center was able to look after the health care needs of the citizens of Ludhiana.
Dr Sirish Chandra was pleased that CMC City Center has completed one year of service and opined that citizens of Ludhiana should take advantage of these services provided by the City Center. He mentioned that patients attending CMC City Center have been very satisfied with the CMC Consultant Doctors and the other services provided by the Center.
Dr Vijay Obed mentioned that Consultant Doctors of CMC Hospital  of all the specialties were available for consultation in the CMC City Center both in the morning and evening; and include – Medicine, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Eye, ENT, Orthopedics, Urology, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Skin, Plastic Surgery, Psychiatry, Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Medical Oncology, Obs/Gyn, Endocrinology and Diabetes, and others.
In addition to the Consultations, various services available at City Center include: Digital X-ray, Digital ECG, modern hematology and biochemistry laboratory, and pharmacy. All these areas are manned by trained and experienced personnel of CMC Hospital. This helps to carry out all the investigations at the City Center, very promptly and efficiently. A complete Physiotherapy Services Unit is also functioning at the City Center. CMC Nursing staff is available all the time to provide care and comfort to the patients; and look after their needs.
In order to serve the community better, a free medical and dental health check-upm camp P was organized at the City Center, which was a great success. A large number of patients benefited from Free Consultations from Doctors of CMC Hospital.   Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria 

A Daring Lung Surgery at CMC Ludhiana

Latest device used for the first time

Photo: A happy Mr Birbal Singh with Dr Harinder Singh Bedi

Punjab is now among the very few cities in India where the latest technology is being used to cure lung disease patients surgically without complications.  This was in the form of a new generation bronchial stapler used by Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardio Vascular Endovascular & Thoracic Surgery in the prestigious Christian Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana.  Dr Bedi explained that in lung surgery for cancer and TB – the air channel (bronchus) to the diseased part of the lung is cut and then repaired. There is a major risk of the sutures giving sway as the suture area is always wet from lung secretions. This complication - called a broncho-pleural fistula - is a dreaded and sometimes fatal complication all over the world. To reduce this risk a new device called a bronchial stapler has been developed by the Ethicon Company of USA in conjunction with Cardio Thoracic surgeons. This has a double row of titanium clips which on deploying securely close the bronchus with an extremely low risk that a leak will occur.
This was used recently by Dr Bedi in Mr Birbal Singh r/o Basti Jodhewal , Ludhiana    . He suffered from a life threatening bleeding from the left upper lobe of the lung. He was referred to Dr Bedi by Dr Mary John – the Head of Medicine at CMC & H.  Mr Birbal was in a critical state and Dr Bedi realized that he would be at high risk of a fistula by conventional surgery. So the new device was used for the first time in Punjab. Dr Bedi has trained in Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery with Dr Mark X Shanahan – the former Chairman of Cardio Thoracic Surgery at St Vincents hospital in Sydney. There he had done many complicated cases. In fact Dr Bedi has been invited to give lectures on lung surgery by the Association of Cardio Thoracic Surgeons. But according to Dr Bedi – Mr Birbal presented a special challenge as he had lost blood and was very weak. The stapler was successfully used and Mr Birbal made a remarkable recovery.
The other members of the Heart – Lung Team are Dr A Joseph, Dr S Garg, Dr Paul, Dr Melchi, Dr D Benia, Dr William, Dr Savan, Dr Pearl., Mr William and Mr Jairus and Yoga Acharya Mr Nirmal Singh. Dr Bedi explained that in lung surgery major cardio-vascular repair can be required at any time – so it is important that the team be a fully trained Cardio- Vascular & Thoracic one.  Dr Bedi is a board certified surgeon qualified and authorized to perform cardiac vascular endovascular and thoracic surgery.
Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that the CMC was committed to bringing the latest technology to the people of Punjab. He complimented Dr Bedi and his team for this pioneering surgery. Dr Thomas told that under the leadership of Dr Bedi CMC & H is regularly performing minimally invasive lung surgeries and is one of the  few centres in India doing this routinely . Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria

Press Conference by IDPD on Nuclear Famine

A Billion People at Risk: IDPD warned 
Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) has since long being campaigning for complete elimination of nuclear weapons as these could annihilate not only the man kind but whole the flora and fauna on earth. Even a limited use of these weapons could put crores of peoples at risk. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) has carried out a study in this regard which is being released internationally now said Dr.L.S.Chawla while addressing the press conference today at IMA House Ludhiana. He said that latest study by the IPPNW has warned that even a limited nuclear exchange could endanger the lives of 100 crorers people in the world.
Dr Arun Mitra – General Secretary IDPD said that Dr. Ira Helfand, the author of Nuclear Famine: A Billion People at Risk—Global Impacts of Limited Nuclear War on Agriculture, Food Supplies, and Human Nutrition, said the new evidence that even the relatively small nuclear arsenals of countries such as India and Pakistan could cause long lasting, global damage to the Earth’s ecosystems “requires a fundamental change in our thinking about nuclear weapons.”
Working with data produced by scientists who have studied the climate effects of a hypothetical nuclear war between India and Pakistan, Dr. Helfand and a team of experts in agriculture and nutrition determined that plunging temperatures and reduced precipitation in critical farming regions, caused by soot and smoke lofted into the atmosphere by multiple nuclear explosions, would interfere with crop production and affect food availability and prices worldwide.
Dr Bharti Uppal- Finance Secretary IDPD gave a presentation.
Among the specific findings:Corn production in the US would decline by an average of 10% for an entire decade, with themost severe decline (20%) in year 5. Soybean production would decline by about7%, with the most severe loss, more than 20%, in year 5.

There would be a significant decline in middle season rice production in China. During the first 4 years, rice production would decline by an average of 21%; over the next 6 years the decline would average 10%.

Increases in food prices would make food inaccessible to hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest. Even if agricultural markets continued to function normally, 215 million people would be added to the rolls of the malnourished over the course of a decade.

Significant agricultural short falls over an extended period would almost certainly lead to panic and hoarding on an international scale, further reducing accessible food.

The 925 million people in the world who are already chronically malnourished (with a baseline consumption of 1,750 calories or less per day), would be put at risk by a 10% decline in their food consumption.

While the IPPNW report calls for further research into the effects on additional crops in additional agricultural regions, Dr. Helfand said this preliminary study “raises a giant red flag” about the danger of nuclear weapons and the urgency of their elimination.

“The death of one billion people over a decade would be a disaster unprecedented in human history,” he said. “It would not cause the extinction of the human race, but it would bring an end to modern civilization as we know it.

“The danger identified in this report requires a fundamental change in our thinking about nuclear weapons. We must now recognize that it is not just the arsenals of the nuclear super powers that threaten all humanity.  Even the smaller arsenals of emerging nuclear powers like India and Pakistan pose a global threat.”

Noting, however, that even one US Trident submarine has the ability to destroy 100 cities and create a global famine, Dr. Helfand said “Even the most ambitious current proposals for nuclear arms reductions would leave the US and Russia with many times the nuclear fire power needed to create a global disaster on the scale described in this study.”

Dr D P Singh Arora – President IMA Ludhiana while paying homage to victims of Chernobyl Nuclear disaster in Ukraine on 26th April 1986 where 93000 people lost their lives demanded that this accident followed by the Fukhushima Nuclear disaster should be eye opener. Learning lesson from these Government of India should put moratorium  on the nuclear power plants. The electricity produce by these plants is neither safe nor economical. There is no foolproof method to manage the nuclear waste. Moreover the nuclear power plants pose a potential threat for the production of nuclear weapons.

Dr N S Bawa – Vice President IDPD said that the doctors have to realize their duty to save the world from catastrophe. Dr Deepak Prashar was also present on the occasion.  

Dr Arun Mitra
General Secretary – IDPD
Phone: 94170 00360

Marx was quoted on Lenin's birthday by Comrade Anil

Birth of man is not creation of any divine power

A society based on  equity and justice is the only way for sustainable development to the benefit of whole mankind. The present day imperial powers led by the USA are imposing neoliberal economic policies on the developing countries in connivance with the elite in these countries. This has led to unprecedented inequality in the society, job freeze, cut on the rights of working people and essential services like health & education have become out of reach of common people. This has to be changed through mass movements. This was said by Shri Anil Rajimwale,  a  philosopher and Marxist thinker  while addressing a seminar organized by the Communist Party of India on “INDIA’S PATH OF DEVELOPMENT BASED ON JUSTICE AND EQUALITY”  on 22^nd April, the birthday of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin the founder of socialism in Soviet Union. Incidentally 22^nd April is observed as World Earth Day.  Life on earth has evolved through evolution in contradiction to the earlier concepts about creation of world. He said that Darwin, through his research proved that life has evolved through certain laws of nature. Birth of man is not creation of any divine power but evolution after millions of years of existence of life on earth. Mr Rajimwale told that taking clue from his work Karl Marx applied the theses on human society and searched about the problems in our society. Marx reached conclusion that vast majority of problems lay in inequalities created as a result of exploitation of man by man. These anomalies can be removed by man’s own efforts. He explained the industrial revolution and its impact on society, based on the studies of various new subjects from natural sciences and social sciences. He was the first to discover the laws of change in nature as well society. He explained the central role of labour in the creation and development of various stages of society. Mr Rajimwale emphasized that Marxist theory is revolutionary because according to it nothing in the world and society is stationary and everything changes. Therefore Marx drew logical conclusion that the capitalist society also must one day leave the stage of world history to be replaced by socialism and communism. Lenin applied this theory in Soviet Union and was successful in achieving a society based on justice to a large extent. The Soviet state supported all the progressive movements worldwide and helped the movements for liberation from the colonial powers. Many freedom fighters in our country drew inspiration from the Soviet revolution. The scientific theory of society’s development serves as a guiding force for these movements. 

Dr Arun Mitra

Assistant Secretary, CPI District Ludhiana

Mobile: 94170 00360

DP Maur has a glorious record of serving the people

Sanjha Morcha wants to establish rule of law-Dr.  Dyal

SANJHA MORCHA candidate of Communist Party of India (CPI) Com Dharam Pal Maur filed his nomination papers today for the Ludhiana West constituency.He was accompanied by S.Jagjit Singh Ghungrana – General Secretary PPP, Com Naval Chhiber– Advocate, Former President  Bar Association Ludhiana, Sh.Rajesh Gandhi–Member PPP State General Council, Dr Pawan Garg, S.Manjit Mehram. On the occasion a rally was organized which was addressed by Dr.Joginder Dyal – Member Central Executive Committee CPI, Com Kartar Singh Bowani – Distt. Secretary CPI, Com Sukhminder Sekhon–Distt. Secretary CPI(M), Dr Arun Mitra–Former President IMA Ludhiana and Com Ramesh Rattan – City Secretary CPI.

Dharam Pal Maur has a glorious record of serving the people of the area. He remained President of the PAU Employees Union continuously for 12 years by winning 6 bi-annual elections in a row from 1995 to 2007. He is presently General Secretary of the Joint Council of Trade Unions which comprises of 17 unions/associations of Ludhiana including bank employees, hospitals, construction workers, government employees, PAU, school teachers, Class IV employees, roadways and railways employees. Besides he is also involved in various social activities like promotion of healthy environment, traffic management, uplift of the lower economic strata through basic education.

Dr Dyal in his address said that the agenda of the Sanjha Morcha including of PPP, CPI, CPI (M) and Akali Dal Longowal is to establish rule of law and to take Punjab out of the serious debt of Rs.138000 crore as a result of wrong policies of the alternate congress and Akali-BJP governments. The people this time have a choice in the form of SANJHA MORCHA. The Morcha started its election campaign from the Jallianwala Bagh with a promise to meet the aspirations of the people.

The Morcha will fill all the vacant posts in government/semi government departments on regular basis and not on contract basis. Unemployment allowance of Rs.2000/- per month will be paid to the unemployed. Quality Education and health care to all will be  the priority. Small scale industry will be given preferential treatment for its development. Taxes on the raw material from other states will be reduced to the benefit of small scale industry. Tax collection system will be made easy and taxes will be reduced. Special schemes will be made for small shopkeepers and vendors. Special attention through budgetary will be given for development of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary Sciences University (GADVASU) for solving their financial crunch. The policemen engaged in serving the VIPs to be taken off to serve the common people. To ensure safe working conditions for women in form of working women hostel, crèches and stringent laws against those indulging in nefarious activities against the women. Morcha will pay special attention to the promotion of healthy environment in the state. Special schemes will be made to care for the elderly and widows & widowers. To promote healthy cultural values. Effective steps to be taken to promote tourism in Punjab.

Dharam Pal Maur in his addressed assured the electorate of his service at all the times. His priorities for the area would be to sort out traffic problem in Ludhiana with special attention to the needs of pedestrians, cycle & rickshaw riders. Housing would be made affordable and special housing colonies will be developed for the low income group. Proper remuneration to the workers in various sectors. Proper facilities to be provided to the Safai  Karamcharis and sewer men.

Operated children are undergoing Physiotherapy in CMC

Since May 2010, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana has been involved in operating Children who are physically challenged under the Project Sarva Siksha Abhayan (SSA). Dr. Santhosh Mathangi, Head of Department, Physical Medical and Rehabilitation (PMR) has successfully operated more than 250 cases of deformity correction and tendon releases.
Children with disability are coming from various parts of Punjab. Their complete assessment is done by a team of professionals which include an Orthopaedician, a Physiatrist (PMR), a Physiotherapist and a Rehab nurse. After which patients with deformities, contractures are admitted in Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana for operation.
Physiatrist (PMR) helps in goal setting of disabled patients and with the help of the whole team, patients benefit better.
There are only two PMR specialists in whole of Punjab. Dr. Santhosh is leading the PMR unit in CMC and  Hospital, Ludhiana.

Operated children are undergoing Physiotherapy in Christian Medical College and Hospital by Tanu Arora (Physiotherapist) after which they are able to walk independently with or without orthosis and perform activities of daily living in order to make life better for both patients and parents.
Rehabilitation main aim is to help these children with special needs with their disabilities to be able to make them independent in life which is achieved with 6-8 weeks of rehabilitation programme and ultimately help these children to go to school. Mr. Deepak, Govt. Officer for the Surgical Correction Project, SSA, Punjab says that he is quite satisfied with the kind of services Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana is providing.

AN APPEAL for PEMA from LEH

Pema is 30-year old lady from Leh, Ladakh, with four children, who recently underwent a urinary bladder reconstruction operation in the Department of Urology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana. She had a diseased urinary bladder which was small in capacity and could not store urine due to tuberculosis of the kidney and bladder. Her left kidney was also diseased and non-functioning due to tuberculosis. Her right kidney was also obstructed due to tuberculosis and this was also set right surgically.

Pema had urinary incontinence and she was always wet and stinking with the smell of urine. Her clothes were always wet due to dribbling of urine without her knowledge. It was an embarrassment for Pema to meet her friends & family, and she could not move out of her home. She then decided to come to CMCH for further treatment. Dr Kim Mammen, Professor & Head, Department of Urology, CMCH

, and his team of doctors and Nurses performed reconstruction of the urinary bladder using an intestinal segment and increased its capacity to store more volume of urine for curing her urinary incontinence. As she was recovering from this major surgical procedure, she developed weakness of all her four limbs due to tuberculosis affecting a portion of her brain, making her unable to walk and use her hands. She is on treatment for her TB and on rigorous physiotherapy and rehabilitation therapy to get the function of her limbs back to near normal. Doctors, Nurses and Physiotherapists at the CMCH are working very hard to get Mrs Pema back to normal. Her husband went back to Leh, Ladakh, to sell all the jewelry and household assets to bring some more money for Pema’s treatment. The hospital authorities have subsidized her treatment and given her a lot of financial assistance, writing off a significant portion of her escalating treatment bill.

Her total cost of treatment would come to Rs 2.5 Lakhs. Pema and her husband had come to CMCH from Leh with only Rs 30000.00

and nothing more. This was the maximum amount they could collect from contributions from their family and friends. Kind hearted philanthropists and well-wishers can help this poor and truly deserving lady by sending in their contribution to the Medical Superintendent, CMCH, by a crossed cheque in favor of “CMC Ludhiana Society” with PEMA’s name and C/O Urology Department mentioned at the back of the cheque, along with a covering letter. All contributions are exempt from income tax under Section 80 G of the Income Tax act. 

Dr Kim Mammen,

Professor & Head, Department of Urology,

Christian Medical College & Hospital,

Ludhiana-141008, Punjab.

Mobile: +91 9814034185.

Annual Conference of Paediatric continued

The 6^th Annual Conference cum Workshop of Paediatric Endoscopic Surgeons of India (PESI-2011) is continued at CMC hospital Ludhiana. Conference cum Workshop is being organized by the Department of Paediatric Surgery, CMC, Ludhiana. The academic sessions were inaugurated on Friday  in the presence of distinguished International Faculty including Mr. Gordon MacKinlay, President of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons, Prof. Long Li., Professor of Paediatric Surgery at the Capital Institution of Paediatrics, Beijing, China and Mr. Ashish Minocha, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, UK.

Jasbir Singh Khangura known as Jassi Khangura  MLA for Qila Raipur, was the Chief guest for the Inauguration Programme. He complimented the organizers for taking pains to organize such conferences for the upliftment of Medical Sciences and enhancing knowledge amongst the medical fraternity. He extended a warm welcome to delegates from all over the country and abroad to Ludhiana city, known as the “Manchester of India”.

Dr. Gurinder Singh Grewal, Member Punjab Medical Council also graced the occasion and promised 10 CME Credit hours to the delegates.

Dr. William Bhatti, Head of Paediatric Surgery, CMCL and Organizing Chairman PESI-2011, welcomed the participants and wished them a pleasant and memorable stay in Ludhiana City as well as an enriching PESI-2011. Dr. Abraham G. Thomas, Director, CMCL lauded the efforts of the Paediatric Surgery department for organizing this prestigious conference cum operative workshop and extended his best wishes to all the participants.

The scientific committee has prepared an exciting programme to suit the delegates with a wide range of expertise in the growing field of paediatric endoscopic surgery. Live operative workshops with interaction between the surgeon and the audience are being organized over the next two days to help improve surgical techniques and skills. The conference will also serve to expose current trends and discuss controversies on various aspects of paediatric endoscopic surgery in the Free Paper Presentation Sessions.          

A number of eminent specialists in the field of Paediatric Endoscopic Surgery will be participating in this conference from 4^th to 6^th March 2011. These include Dr. Reju J. Thomas (CMC, Vellore), Dr. Ketan Parikh (Mumbai), Dr. Mohan K. Abraham (AIMS, Kochi), Prof. K.L.N. Rao (PGI, Chandigarh), Prof. S. Ramesh (Bangalore), Dr. V. Sripathi (Chennai) and Dr. Mona Vashist (Amritsar, Punjab) among others.   

Dr. Anirudh Shah, Chairman PESI-IAPS said that this will be a great opportunity for exchange of knowledge in the field of Minimal Access Surgery in children.

Dr. Rasik Shah, Vice Chairman PESI–IAPS praised the efforts of the organizing committee under the leadership of Dr. William Bhatti, Dr. Dhruv Ghosh and Dr. Nandini K. Bedi, who worked hard to get renowned National and International Faculty to participate in the conference.

Dr. Ravindra Ramadwar, Secretary cum Treasurer PESI- IAPS, promised the participants a very informative and simulating CME programme, devoted to various aspects of Endoscopic Surgery in Children.

The programme was also attended by Dr. S. M. Bhatti, Principal, CMCL who released the Souvenir and Abstract Book PESI-2011 and Dr. Kanwal Masih, the Medical Superintendent, who wished the delegates a memorable and rewarding meeting....: Rector Kathuria & Shalu Arora