By IANS
Raipur : A rare surgical operation to separate 10-month-old conjoined twins that was successfully conducted here at a facility-deprived government hospital will revolutionise India's rural health sector, medical experts say.
A team of doctors at the Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Hospital scripted a rare and successful chapter in the history of India's medical sector May 29 when they detached conjoined twins who were attached at the stomach and shared a liver.
The successful complicated operation that lasted for about five hours, the first of its kind in India's backward areas, made news globally and highlighted the expertise and commitment of doctors without access to latest medical equipments.
"The operation means a lot for the surgical fraternity. The separation of the babies in a largely backward state will revolutionise India's health sector," Sandeep Dave, a noted Raipur-based surgeon, told IANS.
"The doctors have really created history. Now I hope the government will focus more on the improvement of facilities in the interior belts where poor families go to small doctors and small hospitals for medical wonders," Dave added.
Added S.B. Mangroolkar, physician to Chhattisgarh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan: "The separation of the babies has proved that doctors in backward areas are as competent as medical experts in metros.
"In impoverished regions, doctors hardly get the opportunity to show promise and deliver the best. What happened at Raipur has really set a benchmark for metro doctors who enjoy the latest medical equipment," he said.
Sarita Dubey, a senior gynaecologist at the Ambedkar hospital where the twins were detached, said: "The operation will act as inspiration and boost the morale of thousands of doctors posted in isolated and interior regions who joined the medical profession for a mission."