Latest news with #ECMO
Time of India
a day ago
- Health
- Time of India
Doctor's Day: Pune doctor leading the critical care revolution
Dr. Prashant Sakhavalkar is leading a revolution in advanced critical care and organ transplantation at Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, transforming it into a national hub. His team has successfully performed numerous thoracic, liver, and kidney transplants. PUNE: In the elite corridors of Indian medicine, where lung and heart transplants are considered the final frontier—even for the best tertiary care hospitals Dr. Prashant Sakhavalkar and his ICU team is quietly scripting a revolution. As Associate Professor and ICU In-charge has transformed the institution into a national beacon of advanced critical care and thoracic organ transplantation. Under the leadership of Dr. Prashant Sakhvalkar, these complex procedures have consistently delivered outcomes at Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre as 41 thoracic organ transplants, 79 liver transplants, 5 pancreatic transplants, and hundreds of kidney, cornea transplants have been conducted. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune As a seasoned intensivist, he not only leads life-saving procedures but is also a pioneer in ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation)—a critical support therapy for heart and lung failure. With over 10 years of experience in ECMO, Dr. Sakhavalkar has trained dozens of specialists across the country and is a certified ECMO trainer by the international body ELSO. D.Y. Patil Hospital now runs ELSO-certified ECMO training courses, attracting fellows from across India who come to train under his guidance. Currently, two fellows are undergoing training exclusively in ECMO at the center. As a recognized examiner and academician, Dr. Sakhvalkar plays a pivotal role in mentoring the next generation of intensivist. He is currently spearheading the development of AI-based algorithms for ICU decision-making. Under his guidance, the hospital recently hosted a state-level Tele-ICU conference, exploring how artificial intelligence and telemedicine can extend quality care to even the remotest parts of India. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
The Star
5 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Hong Kong woman opens up about life after moment her heart stopped beating
More than a decade ago, Hongkonger Olivia Cheung Lok-man's heart stopped beating for 63 minutes. She was a 19-year-old student at the time and had suffered a fulminant myocarditis attack, a rare and severe illness that can cause heart failure. Cheung, now a 30-year-old art teacher, has since developed the ability to cope with the uncertainties surrounding her condition, thanks to the special care of the medical team at Queen Mary Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). 'I have experienced [near death], I don't think there's anything [my family and I] can't deal with,' she said. Cheung and her doctor spoke to the media on Monday as part of the hospital's work with the Shaw Foundation to offer in-person and online activities to educate the public about intensive care treatments and patients' experiences. Last year, lawmakers passed a legislative amendment that allows terminally ill patients to reject certain treatments, such as undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as the end of their life nears. Simon Sin Wai-ching, the critical care unit doctor at Queen Mary Hospital who treated Cheung, said he hoped more of the public, especially young people, would give more thought to what first aid options they were willing to undergo. 'How do patients feel before entering the ICU? How do they feel during intubation? If we can set up a platform for them to share such stories, it's much more effective than having doctors and residents guess what those procedures feel like,' he said. He noted that less than 20 per cent of patients die in ICUs, where hospitals' best resources are available. Speaking about his time treating Cheung, the doctor said her heart had suddenly skipped a few beats when she began suffering the fulminant myocarditis attack. Sin said the hospital where Cheung was initially admitted had lacked an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO), which acts as an artificial heart and lung. An ECMO and a team of specialists had to be brought over from Queen Mary Hospital to keep her alive, he added. The doctor recalled that the team was still travelling to the other hospital by taxi when they learned that Cheung's heart had completely stopped. At the time of Cheung's fulminant myocarditis attack, each procedure using an ECMO cost more than HK$1 million. Most patients cannot survive undergoing CPR for more than 20 minutes. 'But the whole team was already in the taxi, and there was no place for a U-turn, so we sped ahead,' Sin said, noting an experienced ICU doctor who was jogging nearby had rushed to the hospital to perform CPR on Cheung. Sixty-three minutes later, the specialist team were prepared for the operation and managed to get Cheung's heart beating again. Sin recounted Cheung's miraculous survival in his book, When Suffering Becomes Life , which shares the post-ICU stories of his former patients. Surviving also marked the start of a life of recovery for Cheung. 'I had to relearn writing and walking, but I picked up those skills again very quickly,' she said. Her father, Cheung Wing-hung, said: 'When I first heard Olivia was saved, I worried about taking care of her. Would she need support to use the toilet [after hospitalisation]?' While Olivia Cheung gradually recovered from her near-death experience, it continued to have an impact on her life eight years later, when she woke up one night having wet the bed and with a bleeding tongue. In a check-up, doctors found she had epilepsy as her brain lacked oxygen when her heart stopped. 'Now I cannot drive a car. The medicine for epilepsy also made me too tired to work during the first two weeks I was on it,' she said. But Cheung said that, in spite of her experiences, she remained positive and felt her problems were 'minor ones' compared with what others had gone through.
Buzz Feed
16-06-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
33 Eye-Opening Confessions From An ER Doctor
Recently, on Reddit, an emergency room doctor hosted an AMA, inviting users to "ask me anything" about their profession. Here are some of the best questions and answers from the AMA: Q: What led you to become an ER doctor, and what part of your job could drive you away from wanting to continue to be one? A: I was drawn to emergency medicine because I loved the variety, every rotation in med school had me thinking, "I want to do this," and the ER let me do a bit of everything. I also really like the shift work. When my shift ends, I'm done. A full-time schedule is around 120 hours a month, so most days I still get to enjoy life outside the hospital.I don't really know what would make me leave. A lot of ER docs do burn out eventually, but so far, I still really love it. Q: How much money do you make? Q: What would you keep at home if you really wanted to not die from anything that's sometimes immediately fatal (ie, stroke, pulmonary embolism)? Q: One health tip for the general public given your position and experience? A: If I had to give one health tip based on what I see every day: wear a seatbelt, don't drive drunk, and stay off motorcycles. I've seen too many lives changed — or ended —because of those exact things. Simple choices, but they make a huge difference. Q: I imagine you must have lost a patient at some point. How do you handle informing the family, and how do you make sure it doesn't affect you personally? Q: Recently, a wonderful younger doctor took care of us in the ER, and I would like to give him something to show our appreciation, but I'm not sure what. Any suggestions? Thanks for helping other humans survive! Q: What's the craziest case you saw? A: One of the craziest cases I've seen was a young patient who had a massive pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) and was bleeding heavily into her abdomen at the same time. She was literally dying from clotting too much and bleeding too much at once. Treating one made the other worse — it was an incredibly tough balance and a real challenge medically. She had a thrombectomy, then emergency surgery, and was placed on ECMO. Amazingly, she walked out of the hospital a few weeks later. Q: What was the most surreal/bizarre situation you experienced during a shift? Q: Have you seen The Pitt? If so, what does it get right and what does it get wrong? Q: How often do you think people in extreme pain, perhaps not from an obvious source, are denied pain medication by doctors suspicious of their claims? A: The only times I hold off on giving pain meds are when someone is so sick that the pain might actually be helping keep them alive, or when we need to address something more urgent first, like stabilizing them or protecting their I take pain seriously, even if the source isn't obvious right away. Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not real. Q: Why do emergency doctors tell you what is wrong with you and to follow up with your doctor for further testing, instead of doing the testing while you're in the hospital? Q: When people come through and they have health anxiety and they are talking way too much because that's how they cope, does it annoy you? Q: What are common issues that are right on the border of needing to go to the ER vs Urgent Care and vice versa? Like, where you say, 'Yeah, I can see why you thought to go to urgent care vs. the ER, but you really should have come to the ER,' and vice versa. A: That's a tough one; there's no perfect line between urgent care and the ER. Minor things like small cuts, sprains, or basic infections are usually fine for urgent care. But anything more serious, like chest pain, trouble breathing, bad abdominal pain, high fevers in neonates, or anything that could be life-threatening, you should head to the ER. Q: Have you ever seen signs of obvious terminal cancer that were a complete surprise to the patient being seen? Q: As someone who gets panic attacks, what do you think when someone shows up with one? Q: Your answers have been very empathetic and thoughtful—do you think most of your colleagues have a similar attitude toward patient care, tolerance, etc? A: Thanks. Everyone's a little different, but in general, I do think most people in this line of work, like doctors, nurses, techs, etc., choose it because we genuinely want to help. Q: My 17-year-old just graduated from high school and got through an EMT program in her senior year. She is going to college in the fall, doing pre-med. Her end goal is to be an ER physician. I want my kid to reach her potential, and she is for sure cut out for it, personality-wise, but would you actually recommend the profession to others? If you had a chance to do over and pick a different career (or specialty), would you? Q: I'm extremely phobic about needles and blood. If I came in in distress, what would your staff be able to do to make things less traumatic for me? I'm really afraid that if I thought I was having a heart attack or something, I would genuinely think twice about going in for help. Q: Knowing what you know and having seen what you've seen, what advice would you give us? A: If there's one thing I've learned, it's that family is the most important thing. At the end of someone's life, no one talks about the news, politics, or work. It's all about the people they love — holding hands, saying goodbye, being surrounded by family. Those moments make everything else fade into the background. Q: What is the FUNNIEST thing that has happened? Q: Is there any particuliar kind of accidents you prefer not to see? Q: Are there days or times of year when the ER is a lot busier? A: Mondays are usually the busiest, and we also see spikes right after big storms or bad weather clears. Q: Does work provide any resources to help you recover from any trauma you experience as a result of being exposed to intense scenarios? Q: What's the funniest story behind an injury you've treated? Q: Do you enjoy working with paramedics or do they bother you? A: I really enjoy working with paramedics, especially the ones who are engaged and curious, and I always try to follow up with them when I can so they know how their patient did. We're all part of the same team. The only thing that can be a turn-off is when someone's overconfident to the point that they miss something important, like a STEMI, or ignore a patient's pain. There's no room for ego in this work; we all need to stay sharp and humble because lives depend on it. Q: I went to the ER recently for upper GI pain (it was bad). Turns out I was severely dehydrated and needed to pass some good ole material. I was kinda embarrassed about it. How many people come to the ER because they are backed up? Q: I had a severe injury a couple of months ago and was scared of going to the ER due to the costs. Is that a genuine fear? I fear that if my life is in danger, I'd be too scared to call an ambulance or go to the ER because of costs. Q: What's the common thing you see children under 10 come in for? The most severe cases and the less severe cases? A: Most common reason kids under 10 come in? Definitely fever or upper respiratory infections — especially in the winter. We see tons of those. On the more severe end, things like allergic reactions, accidental ingestions, and trouble breathing. Q: How often do patients not believe your diagnosis? Got some fun examples? Q: Whats the craziest thing someone has put in their butt? Q: Do all the staff sleep with each other like in movies, or is that, like, just in movies? A: That's mostly just in the movies, but every hospital definitely has its fair share of drama. When you work long hours in a high-stress environment, relationships and gossip happen. It's not like Grey's Anatomy, but yeah, things go on. Q: Whats the worst thing you have seen someone (mostly) recover from? Q: What is the best way to advocate for yourself if you think the doctor or nurse has it wrong? Do you work in an ER or a similar medical setting? Tell us about your experiences in the comments or via the anonymous form below:
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Resident doc dies after alleged suicide attempt
Jaipur: A resident doctor at SN Medical College, Jodhpur Dr Rakesh Vishnoi (30), died during treatment at SMS Hospital Saturday night after allegedly attempting suicide Friday. He was under stress due to departmental issues, colleagues said. Vishnoi was shifted via green corridor and put on ECMO, but despite efforts, doctors couldn't save him. "Despite all medical efforts, we lost a dedicated resident, a kind soul, and a true fighter," a resident doctor said in Jaipur. Vishnoi was a PG student of the 2022 batch, and his PG was about to be completed in Sept. TNN Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
The Print
11-06-2025
- Health
- The Print
65-year-old woman beats end-stage disease by successful lung transplant in Delhi
The woman was suffering from end-stage interstitial lung disease (ILD) caused by scleroderma, a rare autoimmune condition, said a statement from the hospital. The patient had been oxygen-dependent for over a year and faced progressive respiratory failure, it added. The surgery was carried out by doctors at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in the national capital. New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) A 65-year-old woman battling an end-stage lung disease got a new lease of life due to a successful bilateral lung transplant at a private hospital, officials said on Wednesday. She was admitted to the hospital on May 14, after years of battling connective tissue disease-related ILD, requiring continuous oxygen support of 4-5 litres per minute and unable to perform basic activities independently. Her oxygen saturation would fall to 70 per cent without external oxygen. Despite being on long-term immunosuppressive therapy, her lung function had severely declined, it said. A team of doctors examined her and confirmed that she was a fit candidate for a bilateral lung transplant, one of the most advanced and high-risk procedures in thoracic surgery. On May 15, a matching donor lung became available from a brain-dead patient at Fortis Hospital, Noida, the statement added. The transplant team at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital retrieved the lungs late at night and initiating the transplant surgery around 3 am. The procedure lasted nearly seven hours and was conducted while the patient was on ECMO support — a critical intervention to maintain oxygenation and circulation during the operation, the statement added. Post-transplant, she required ventilatory support and underwent a tracheostomy due to a poor cough reflex. Over the following weeks, she underwent more than 15 bronchoscopies to manage airway secretions, until her natural respiratory reflexes were restored, it said. The patient was gradually taken off all external supports, shifted to oral immunosuppressive medication, and started on a structured rehabilitation programme to support recovery and improve lung function. PTI SLB SKY SKY This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
