logo
Jammu AIIMS launches laser ablation services for varicose vein patients

Jammu AIIMS launches laser ablation services for varicose vein patients

Jammu, May 29 (UNI) All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jammu has marked a significant milestone with the successful commencement of Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) services for the treatment of varicose veins patients under the department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging.
The first case was recently performed in the state-of-the-art Interventional Radiology (IR) suite, signalling a new era of minimally invasive vascular care at the institute with the esteemed support of ED and CEO, Prof (Dr) Shakti Kumar Gupta, the official spokesman said.
He said varicose veins are the enlarged, twisted veins often affecting the lower limbs — can cause considerable discomfort and complications if left untreated.
EVLA, a minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided procedure used by interventional radiologists, uses laser energy to close off these problematic veins, offering patients a safe and effective alternative as a daycare procedure.
It is almost a scarless and sutureless procedure with good treatment outcomes and quicker recovery time.
The spokesman said that the procedure was performed by a team of skilled radiologists led by Dr Ankit Prabhakar, Assistant Professor, Radiodiagnosis and Imaging with other Faculty members, senior residents, nursing officers and other staff members.
Speaking on the development, the Radiologist's team at the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging emphasised the importance of such advanced interventions in addressing vascular health issues in the region. Varicose vein patients are now been routinely evaluated in IR OPD at AIIMS.
"Patients with symptoms such as leg swelling, pain, skin changes, or visible varicosities are encouraged to consult the Interventional Radiology OPD at AIIMS Jammu for assessment and eligibility for EVLA," said the spokesman.
"This is the first IR care centre in Jammu offering such minimally invasive treatment options to patients," she said adding that moreover, the commencement of IR OPD is first of its kind in whole union territory of J&K with AIIMS Jammu pioneering the same.
The Head of the Department and Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Dr. Gita, said that Radiology at AIIMS, Jammu, is equipped with and will be advanced with more imaging intervention services in the very near future.
Prof (Dr) Shakti Kumar Gupta ED and CEO, AIIMS Jammu added that 'The introduction of EVLA marks a significant leap forward in the range of interventional radiology services offered at AIIMS Jammu. This initiative is part of AIIMS Jammu's ongoing commitment to bringing world-class, patient-centered medical care to the region and establishing itself as a hub for advanced interventional procedures in future." UNI VBH SSP

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The common yet serious sleep disorder hiding behind loud snores
The common yet serious sleep disorder hiding behind loud snores

India Today

timean hour ago

  • India Today

The common yet serious sleep disorder hiding behind loud snores

For most of his life, Ankur Das thought snoring was what normal people did while sleeping. He felt groggy throughout the day and was able to fall asleep very easily at any time of the meant trouble for him only when he got married and his wife complained of the loud snores, frequent wake-ups to use the bathroom, and a constant struggle with weight over 104 million Indians have the same problem as Ankur, a condition known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). According to a 2023 AIIMS study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Sleep Medicine, 11% of Indians suffer from OSA: 13% in men and 5% in women."Obstructive sleep apnea is considered one of the single most important causes of coronary artery disease in recent times," according to Dr. Sarmishtha Bandyopadhyay, a senior ear, nose and throat specialist at Neotia Mediplus OPD and Diagnostics IS OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA?Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a condition where a person stops breathing for short periods while sleeping because their airway gets blocked. According to a 2023 AIIMS study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Sleep Medicine, 11% of Indians suffer from OSA: 13% in men and 5% in women. () advertisementWhen you sleep, the muscles in your throat relax. But in some people, these relaxed muscles collapse too much or the tongue falls back, blocking the makes the person stop breathing for a few seconds, sometimes many times, during the brain notices the lack of oxygen and briefly wakes the person up to breathe again, often without them realising it. As a result, people with OSA snore loudly (a common sign), feel very tired during the day, may wake up gasping or choking at night, and may have headaches or trouble like your body keeps hitting a pause button on breathing during sleep, which messes up your rest and affects your health over SHOULD WE TAKE SNORING SERIOUSLY?If you thought snoring was just a harmless, if annoying, nighttime quirk, think again. OSA, a serious sleep disorder, can silently wreak havoc on your health. It is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and metabolic also causes cognitive decline and memory problems."Obstructive sleep apnea puts your heart under stress because your oxygen levels keep dipping throughout the night. Over time, this leads to long-term cardiovascular strain," added Dr. Shalini Bhutta, consultant physician at Neotia Mediplus, said that through epidemiological studies, clinical observations, and mechanistic research, it has become increasingly evident that OSA is not merely a respiratory disorder but a complex condition with far-reaching implications for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality."There's mounting evidence linking it to a spectrum of cardiovascular abnormalities and adverse events," said Dr. can develop OSA, but certain factors such as being overweight or obese, having a large neck size, family history of sleep apnea, smoking or alcohol use, and nasal congestion or structural issues like a deviated septum can lead to men are more commonly affected than women, post-menopausal women have also been showing rising a sleep test (polysomnography) helps diagnose the condition, following which most doctors recommend using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. A CPAP machine helps treat obstructive sleep apnea. () The CPAP machine gently blows air through a mask worn over the nose or mouth. This keeps the airway open, so breathing doesn't stop during sleep—thus preventing snoring and improving sleep critical cases, surgery is required to remove tissue from the back of the mouth and top of the this, lifestyle changes such as losing weight, sleeping on your side, avoiding alcohol or sedatives, and treating nasal congestion can left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can affect the heart, brain, metabolism, and overall quality of loud snoring comes with daytime tiredness or disrupted sleep, it's worth checking out. Hectic schedules and busy lifestyles have resulted in poor sleep patterns in India, making OSA one of the most under-checked and overlooked causes of heart disease and stressed that better sleep isn't just about rest, it's about long-term health.

Safdarjung hosp third in Del to start DM in nephrology training
Safdarjung hosp third in Del to start DM in nephrology training

Time of India

time3 hours ago

  • Time of India

Safdarjung hosp third in Del to start DM in nephrology training

New Delhi: Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VNMC) and Safdarjung Hospital have become Delhi's third institutions to start the Doctorate of Medicine (DM) in the nephrology training programme from the 2025 session. Previously, only AIIMS and RML Hospital offered this course. Dr Sandeep Bansal, the medical superintendent at Safdarjung Hospital, confirmed the allocation of three annual seats for DM in nephrology. "All three positions are being secured by candidates ranking within the top 10," he said. Principal of VNMC, Dr Geetika Khanna, expressed pride in launching this course. She emphasised the necessity of an additional workforce through postgraduate programmes, citing substantial patient numbers. Dr Himanshu Verma, who heads the nephrology department at Safdarjung Hospital, stated that approximately 6,000-7,000 kidney patients seek treatment at the hospital each month. India faces a significant shortage of nephrologists and dialysis specialists due to the increasing number of kidney-related health issues. Statistics indicate that 10% of Indians suffer from kidney-related conditions. The country has an expanding population of chronic kidney disease patients, with roughly 175,000 new end-stage renal disease cases annually. The nation incurs significant expenses for dialysis and transplant treatments. The govt's Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme assists financially challenged patients. Despite having excellent nephrologists and transplant surgeons, India requires more specialists to handle the increasing population of kidney patients, particularly considering the country's size. Qualified nephrologists are essential to reduce healthcare costs through early identification and prevention of kidney ailments.

Organ transplants hit by fund constraints and infrastructural deficiencies: report
Organ transplants hit by fund constraints and infrastructural deficiencies: report

The Hindu

time18 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Organ transplants hit by fund constraints and infrastructural deficiencies: report

A report released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has revealed that the organ transplantation programme in the country has been crippled by multiple issues, especially insufficient funding, shortage of specialised doctors, and procedural delays. The report dated June 19, 2025, which followed a high-level meeting of senior health officials to review the status of organ transplantation activities in government hospitals and identify the key challenges, pointed to infrastructural deficiencies, especially shortage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and lack of financial support to patients who required lifelong medication that was expensive. Explaining the bottlenecks and other issues faced by State-owned institutions, the report said only 13,476 kidney transplants were performed, both in government and private hospitals, against the recommended 1 lakh cases last year. The capacity of government hospitals was not adequate to meet the target of organ transplants and creation of new centres were 'definitely' required. Infrastructural issues The report elaborated on the lack of facilities in government healthcare institutions, saying a significant number of government hospitals had reported the absence of dedicated infrastructure for organ retrieval and transplantation, including specialised transplant operation theatres (OTs) and dedicated Transplant Intensive Care Units (TICUs). Existing OTs and ICUs were frequently overburdened with general patient loads. A critical and frequently cited issue was the shortage of ICU beds, which were essential for maintaining potential brain-stem dead (BSD) donors and for post-operative care of recipients. In many trauma centres, beds were unavailable for potential donors due to high patient volume. Many institutions, including several All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), lacked in-house Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) cross-matching laboratory facilities. The dependency on external laboratories was causing significant delays and logistical challenges in the transplantation process. Several government hospitals had stated that their current facilities required substantial logistical and infrastructural upgrades to meet the standards necessary for performing complex transplant procedures. The report compiled by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, which convened the meeting, said the shortage of specialised faculty coupled with frequent transfer of trained personnel, was disrupting the continuity and establishment of transplant programmes. A major bottleneck was the scarcity of dedicated and trained transplant surgeons, nephrologists, urologists, anaesthetists, neurosurgeons/neurologists and intensivists within the government hospitals. Experts representing various government institutions in different States flagged issues relating to delays in obtaining formal approval and constitution of the BSD Committees, which was essential to initiate deceased organ donation programme. The handling of medico-legal cases, particularly involving trauma patients who represented the largest pool of potential donors, was often cumbersome and lacked a streamlined process, thereby discouraging organ donation. Burden on patients On the paucity of funds, the report said some hospitals had reported inadequate funds to initiate or restart specialised transplant programs, such as lung transplantation, which necessitated expensive equipment and preservatives. A significant concern was the high cost of immunosuppressant drugs, which patients must take for life. The financial support available under current schemes was often limited to the first year, imposing a substantial burden on patients thereafter. It was highlighted that there were no formal incentives for transplant and organ donation teams (surgeons, nurses, coordinators etc) on a case-by-case basis. Such incentives could motivate them to increase the number of transplants. The non-inclusion of liver and heart transplantation and the associated lifelong follow-up costs in major Central health schemes like Ayushman Bharat were identified as significant barriers for underprivileged patients The report 'strongly recommended that liver and heart transplantation, including the lifelong cost of immunosuppressants for post-transplant recipients, be comprehensively included under the central Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana [AB-PMJAY] scheme'.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store