Health

Talegaon: A 59-year-old hypertensive woman from Pune has regained normal breathing after battling a rare tracheal tumour. Struggling with progressive shortness of breath and stridor (noisy breathing), she received timely care at TGH Onco Life Cancer Centre, Talegaon Dabhade. Under the expertise of Dr Utkarsh R. Ajgaonkar, Dr Vivek Bande, Dr Ashish Bawiskar, Dr Madhura, and Dr Vishvas Koul, thoracoscopic-assisted tracheal resection restored her airway and quality of life, showcasing the impact of advanced minimally invasive surgery for rare airway cancers. Alka Deshmukh, a homemaker and resident of Talegaon, had been experiencing progressively worsening breathing difficulties for nearly a month. She initially consulted a chest physician, who advised a CT scan of the chest. The scan reveal...

A Mumbai couple, married for five years and trying to conceive for over a year, had been silently struggling with infertility because of sexual health challenges. Through personalised treatment, advanced reproductive techniques, and empathetic counselling, they recently welcomed a healthy baby boy. The husband was a known case of Type 2 Diabetes and suffered from erectile dysfunction, while the wife had been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and vaginismus. Due to vaginismus, a condition that causes involuntary tightening of vaginal muscles, making examinations and intercourse difficult, she initially found it difficult to even undergo internal examinations. With reassurance and gradual counselling by the clinical team, she was able to tolerate transvaginal ultrasonography a...

The Indian cricket team won a thrilling T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While cheering for India, many fans also witnessed the impressive fitness levels of players such as Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya.   While their fitness routines are intense, Mumbai-based health experts, including sports medicine specialists, say you can bring elements of cricket fitness to your work desk. With long working hours becoming common, they say you can do some exercises during short breaks at work.   To know more, mid-day.com spoke to Dr Gazanfar Patel, who is the senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mumbai Central, and Dr Anup Khatri, senior consultant, orthopaedics, Gleneagles...

The government has issued a draft Gazette Notification proposing amendments to avoid duplicate viral testing of blood products and invited public comments on it, an official statement said on Wednesday.  The amendment aims to align regulatory requirements for testing of blood products with internationally accepted pharmacopeial standards and to remove additional testing requirements on products that are not warranted under global best practices, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in the statement. The amendments were proposed to "Para G (Testing of Blood Products), Part XII C, Schedule F of the Drugs Rules 1945". The ministry described the move as a step toward regulatory harmonisation, scientific rationalisation of testing requirements and reduction of avoidable compliance ...

In an era of high-stress careers and constant digital connectivity, a good night’s sleep has become a luxury. This desperation has fuelled a massive surge in melatonin gummies — brightly coloured, sweet-tasting supplements marketed as a harmless, natural way to drift off. But Indian medical experts are sounding the alarm: melatonin is no simple vitamin; it’s a potent neuro-hormone, and unregulated use is disrupting the very systems it’s meant to help. Ahead of World Sleep Day on March 13, leading pulmonologists are raising red flags about the growing misuse of these popular gummy supplements. The hormone myth: Understanding the biology of sleep The first step in understanding the risk is correcting a common misconception: melatonin is not a vitamin. As Dr Salil Bendre, director of pulmon...

Science has always fascinated people around the world, and Indians have a rich history in the field because they have made some of the most important contributions in the field over the years.  In fact, National Science Day, which is observed on February 28, marks the day one such Indian scientist and physicist, CV Raman, made the discovery called `Raman Effect` in 1928, and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for it, showcasing individual excellence and Indian genius at the world stage.  Amid the constant evolution of science and the growing conversation around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, some Indian industry experts highlight what got them curious about science in the first place, and why they believe STEM is the future.  Somenath Ghatak, manage...

Last year, US President Donald Trump told pregnant women not to take Tylenol as he promoted unproven ties between the fever reducer and autism and touted an old generic drug as a treatment for the developmental condition. For nearly three months after that, new research found, Tylenol orders for pregnant women showing up in emergency rooms dropped and prescriptions of the generic drug for children rose. This happened despite sharp criticism of the president`s message from doctor groups saying that the drug, leucovorin, shouldn`t be broadly used for autism, and Tylenol is safe during pregnancy. "It just shows that in our country right now, health care has been politicised in a way that political messages are driving and impacting care - and not always for good," said Dr Susan Sirota, a pa...

A 94-year-old patient suffering from repeated heart failure was successfully treated by Thane doctors with a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) at the hospital.  The patient was admitted under Dr Nitin Burkule, consultant – Interventional Cardiologist, at Jupiter Hospital. Due to severe narrowing of the heart valve, the patient had been hospitalised twice within a month with breathlessness, weakness, and extreme fatigue. Just weeks earlier, the patient had been fully independent, walking on his own and managing daily life comfortably. However, repeated heart failure episodes rapidly caused frailty and loss of mobility. Explaining the complexity of the case, Dr Burkule said, “Age was not the biggest challenge. The real concern was frailty. Until recently, the patient was comp...

In a rare but life-altering case, a young man who lost his hearing completely due to medication-induced damage has begun to regain sound and communication following a cochlear implant. This highlights the importance of early recognition and timely intervention in adult hearing loss. While cochlear implants are commonly associated with children born with hearing impairment, they are also used to treat adults who experience severe and irreversible hearing loss. In some cases, the damage progresses rapidly and cannot be corrected with hearing aids. This patient’s hearing loss began in 2019 after he was prescribed medication for a medical condition. However, the drugs included those known to damage the auditory nerve, leading to hearing loss with a devastating impact. Having previously devel...

In a rare and highly complex cardiac procedure, Kolkata doctors have successfully implanted a permanent pacemaker in an elderly woman who had an artificial bicaval valve system, giving her a new lease of life. It is a highly specialised treatment used in patients suffering from severe tricuspid regurgitation, a condition where a valve on the right side of the heart does not close properly, causing blood to flow backward, and congestive heart failure. To the best of the doctors` and hospital`s medical knowledge, this is the first such case in India and has been reported only once globally. Understanding the health condition The procedure was carried out by Dr Subhasish Deb, consultant – Cardiology, and the dedicated cath lab team at Manipal Hospital Mukundapur in Kolkata. The woman, Shya...