HEALTH: Artificial ribs created

Ludhiana, October 22, 2012: Dev Sharan and Amresh Singh of Jamalpur were in  a very difficult situation. The son of Dev (and nephew of Amresh) – a 13 year old bright young boy – Master Shubham Singh – was suffering from a cancer of the chest wall . The cancer – called Ewing’s sarcoma – was eating into his ribs and had a risk of spreading all over his body.

He was referred to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery - at the prestigious Christian Medical College and Hospital , Ludhiana.  

Dr Bedi  has trained at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney where he has seen cases of cancer in children deteriorating rapidly if timely surgery is not done .

Under the expert supervision of  the Medical Oncology Head – Dr Kunal Jain – chemotherapy was first given and then a marathon surgery planned.

According to Dr Bedi – the surgery would require a total removal of all affected parts which would lead to a large defect in the chest wall . The ribs are the major supports of the chest wall and protect the lungs from damage .  A plan was made to design artificial ribs tailored to Shubham’s anatomy.

A detailed design was made and with the help of Mr Rajinder Singh of the maintenance department of CMC & H - ribs of special medical grade stainless steel were made . Dr Bedi explained that the steel is the same one as used in orthopedic implants and is fully compatible with the human body . At surgery after removal of all affected ribs – the steel ribs were fixed in position . This design worked superbly - the ribs  gave a good support to the lungs and Shubham has made a remarkable recovery with full function of his lungs .

Dr Bedi said that Shubham took inspiration from the cricketer Mr Yuvraj Singh .  Shubham is a bright young man , is good in his studies and he wants to study and become a doctor .

The other members of the cardiac team involved in this marathon surgery were  Dr A Joseph , Dr S Garg, Dr Melchi, Dr Anish , Dr Anuj, Dr Elizabeth, Dr Gurleen and Dr Ashwin.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H  – emphasised that complex surgeries are being done successfully even on small children at CMC. This is possible because of the excellent infrastructure and faculty of CMC . He said that CMC is committed to bring International level cardiac care to the doorsteps of the people of this region.