Ludhiana, July 4
Zimmer Gender Knees, artificial knees designed for females, have been used by Professor and Head of Orthopeadics at DMCH, Dr J.L. Bassi, for the first time in North India after Delhi. The surgery was carried out on Surjit Kaur ( 57) at DMCH recently.

Knee replacement has evolved as one of the most preferred treatments for aching and worn- out knees. Knee replacement in general improves quality of life, often dramatically in patients with severe arthritis. Traditionally, this has been carried out with standard artificial knees simply available in different sizes. These options are not able to address the anatomical differences between males and females.

Since, the size and shape of the female knee bones, including the femur, tibia and patella, are significantly different from men, Zimmer, a worldwide leader in joint replacement solutions, developed a gender-specific implant to better meld with the female anatomy and to provide better motion and stability. It has a thinner profile to eliminate bulkiness, allows for more natural movement of the kneecap and has a shape specially contoured for women that allows additional flexion and extension movement. It can be placed minimally invasively because traditional knee implant requires intraoperative adjustments. Zimmer Gender knees which were approved by The United States Food and Drug Administration in May 2006 were launched in India in April, 2007 this year.

Giving reasons for choosing such Knees, Dr. Bassi said “These knees can be preferred over traditional artificial knees for ladies because we do not need to over-stuff the knee joint.”

Ludhiana, July 4
Senior consultant neurosurgeon M.K. Sobti attended an international conference on “summit epilepsy” in Phukat, Thailand, recently. Various aspects of epilepsy (seizures) were discussed in the seminar. Epilepsy is the second commonest central nervous system (CNS) disorder after headache.

It is still thought to be a social stigma. The word epilepsy is derived from Greek meaning, “to be seized by forces from without.” During an attack of seizures, the patient may have involuntary movement of one half of the body or both sides of the body followed by clenching of teeth and unconsciousness. Various studies report about the prevalence of epilepsy among five to eight persons out of 1,000. Approximately 3 per cent of the persons can be expected to be suffering from epilepsy at some stage of their lives. There are 50 million people suffering from epilepsy in the world. Out of this, 35 million are living in developing countries. In India, there are 8.8 million people suffering from epilepsy that is 25 to 30 per cent of all developing countries.

Satish Chander from NIMHANS, Bangalore, spoke on “old anti-epileptics in new millennium”. He recommended the use of phenobarb (gardinal) as first line drug for generalised and focal seizures in developing countries. Phenobarb is a cheap drug which can be given as a single dose. Patients with liver disease can have phenobarbitone. Only 4 per cent of the patients have attention and memory problem with phenobarbitone which is comparable to modern antiepileptics.

Those attending the conference agreed with WHO recommendation to use phenobarb as first line of drug in countries with limited resources. Sobti said 60 to 65 per cent of the patients respond to medication but one third of the epileptics, whose seizures persist despite therapy with modern antiepileptics at adequate serum level, are potential candidates for surgical therapy. A few recent findings suggest that vigorous therapeutic approach to seizure control, including surgery, is warranted in such patients. Various types of surgical techniques are cortical resection of epileptic focus, medial temporal lobectomy, selective amygdalohippocampectorny and hemispherectomy.

Ludhiana, July 4
Stopping medicines of his own has cost a patient dear here.Experts in the field have stressed that the recovering patients of kidney transplant surgery should never stop taking the prescribed medication, otherwise in the damage of transplanted kidney, the patient may have to undergo transplant surgery again.

Such is the case of a 35-year-old patient, Harbhajan Singh, of Rampur village, Khanna, who underwent kidney transplant three times, each time the surgery being cent per cent successful and the patient had started enjoying a normal life.

Dr B.S. Aulakh, head of the Department of Urology, DMCH, giving details about this patient said Harbhajan was admitted to the Department of Urology in 1999 with a complaint of generalised weakness, hypertension and decreased urine output. He was diagnosed to have advanced-stage kidney failure. The patient went through renal transplant, for which kidney was donated by the patient’s father. After the transplant, the patient was put on a regular oral medication for a certain period but due to his sheer negligence, the patient stopped the prescribed medicines without consulting his doctor.

As his condition started deteriorating, he again consulted the doctors and was diagnosed to have renal failure because of voluntarily withdrawal of medicines. Since the patient had already been leading a healthy normal life after the first transplant, he and his family members insisted on getting second transplant done. This time his sister donated the kidney. He again underwent a kidney transplant in 2001. He performed well for many years but in June, 2006, he had a dog bite. With fear of sepsis, the patient again stopped taking the prescribed medication. As a result, the patient had a renal failure and was put on Haemodialysis under the supervision of professor of Nephrology Dr J.S. Sandhu.

The patient and his attendants then requested for the third transplant, for which treating doctors were not ready as the patient had been repeatedly ignoring taking medicines after the two transplants done earlier. Considering request and help by the management of a social-welfare trust run by Gurdwara Bhaini Sahib and DMCH, the patient underwent third kidney transplant on May 18 this year, for which the kidney was donated by the patient’s mother. The patient has recently been discharged in a normal condition.

Dr Aulakh has suggested that patients must not stop taking medicines or take extra dose of medicine without consulting their doctor. He said even if one had to travel, he or she must carry the medicine. Besides, regular exercise, good diet was important. In case of fever or decreased urine output,the doctor concerned should be contacted immediately, he added.

Ludhiana, July 4
As many 36 players attended the trials conducted by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA) at the Arya College Ground here today to select the probables for the forthcoming Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Tournament for Katoch Shield.

This tournament is slated to be organised by the Punjab Cricket Association from mid August at different venues in the state.

The selection panel of the LDCA with Chaman Lal Malhotra, Sham Lal and Pawan Pandey supervised the players. The selected players would attend coaching-cum-training camp at the same venue prior to their participation in the inter-district tournament.

The camp would start from tomorrow. The players have been asked to report to coach Manmohan Bedi.

Ludhiana, July 4
Intermittent rain since last night failed to dampen the spirits of young boys and girls who turned in large numbers to appear for the selection trials for admission in the residential and non-residential training centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at the Guru Nanak Sports Complex here today.

Players in the age group of 14 to 19 years who have secured first three positions in the state and national-level competitions are attending the trials.

More than 200 aspirants enrolled themselves for the three-day trials being conducted by the SAI. These players appeared in disciplines of athletics, judo, wightlifting, basketball, handball and volleyball. A panel of four experts along with members of the selection committee supervised these young players. Karam Singh, assistant director, SAI centre, Masutana Sahib, Sangrur was also present today.

The aspirants underwent a battery of tests which included 30m flying start, standing broad jump, standing vertical jump, forward bend and reach, shuttle run, 800m run and medicine ball throw. Tomorrow, specific tests would be counducted to check technique, tactics and performance ability which will be followed by medical examination.

Harbans Singh, incharge of the SAI centre, Ludhiana, expressed satisfaction over the turnout of aspirants at the trials. "We were occupied with renovation work at the centre and started the trials exercise quite late, however, in view of the indifferent weather, the response was encouraging," he said.