eshma/Aligarh

In a healthcare institution’s reputation is known by the wait-list of  patients needing surgeries, then there is no difference between the country’ apex Reseach institute All India Institute of Medical sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital and the J N Aligarh Medical College of Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

On the lines of AIIMS, the patients are on the waitlist of surgeries in the AMU medical college too. This is however, not dampening the spirits of the patients and rush of the patients for surgeries is always high.

The AMU’s college's Cardio-thoracic Surgery Department is performing special surgeries to correct the defects in the heart of children aged between 20 days to 18 years. The Medical College has built similar units in three other cities of UP. However, a particular kind of surgery can only be performed here at AMU.

Dr Azam Hasin, chairman of the Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Department, says that units were opened in Noida, Lucknow, Banaras and Aligarh under the National Child Health Program.

At the AMU Medical College this unit was set up in 2018 at a cost of Rs 15 crores. However, the surgeries are being done only in the AMU. “We do have a team of 5 doctors. Besides, there is also a qualified nursing staff and hence surgeries are done here. In a month we perform at least 40 surgeries,” Dr Hasin said.

According to Dr Azam Hasin the hospital needs more doctors and paramedics to increase the number of surgeries The team consists of Dr Sabir Ali, Dr Shad Abkari, Dr Mayank Yadav and Dr SP Singh.

The reputation of this department has spread far and wide that people from other states also come to AMU for surgery.

The reason for the heavy rush to the department is also because the National Child Health Program being a state funded scheme and surgeries are done only here for free, doctors from all over the State are referring the patients to the medical college.

The children hailing from UP are treated free of cost while the surgery for those from outside the State has a modest expenses. The surgeries being done frequently are for mending the hole in heart, widening of the blood vessels, removal of obstruction in blood vessels etc.