Enliven: Surgery and Transplantation

We are all aware and fresh with the memories of the recent turmoil that shook us to shambles last year and is still chasing us in Kashmir valley. Trauma is not something new for us as we have been already handling all varieties of trauma since last three decades. Trauma is growing menace and is listed as one of the major killer diseases of the mankind, assuming a significance of a global disease. Trauma is engulfing and mopping up human lives in its different facies. Natural catastrophes like earthquakes, floods, avalanches, land-slides, fire outbreaks, tsunamis consume human lives in bulk and bring massive destruction and devastation. Over the last few decades yet another form of trauma has cropped up globally owing to urbanisation. The road traffic accidents is yet another challenge to handle. Man to man conflicts, war weaponry have explored a newer horizon of trauma. According to a recent WHO report you will be surprised to know that by 2020 trauma will be the third largest killer disease in the developing world. It is going to be the global pandemic. Rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, crimes and violence have led to an alarming increase in the rate of accidental injuries. It is estimated that in the developing countries over 6 million will die and 60 million will be injured in the next 10 years. Road traffic accidents are increasing at an alarming annual rate of 3%. It may not surprise you to know that a vehicular accident is reported every 3 minutes and a consequent death every 10 minutes on Indian roads. A trauma related death occurs in India every 1.9 minutes. It is alarming to note that the magnitude of the problem is growing and growing and little has been done in this regard to handle this meanace.

We are all aware and fresh with the memories of the recent turmoil that shook us to shambles last year and is still chasing us in Kashmir valley. Trauma is not something new for us as we have been already handling all varieties of trauma since last three decades. Trauma is growing menace and is listed as one of the major killer diseases of the mankind, assuming a significance of a global disease. Trauma is engulfing and mopping up human lives in its different facies. Natural catastrophes like earthquakes, floods, avalanches, land-slides, fire outbreaks, tsunamis consume human lives in bulk and bring massive destruction and devastation. Over the last few decades yet another form of trauma has cropped up globally owing to urbanisation. The road traffic accidents is yet another challenge to handle. Man to man conflicts, war weaponry have explored a newer horizon of trauma. According to a recent WHO report you will be surprised to know that by 2020 trauma will be the third largest killer disease in the developing world. It is going to be the global pandemic. Rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, crimes and violence have led to an alarming increase in the rate of accidental injuries. It is estimated that in the developing countries over 6 million will die and 60 million will be injured in the next 10 years. Road traffic accidents are increasing at an alarming annual rate of 3%. It may not surprise you to know that a vehicular accident is reported every 3 minutes and a consequent death every 10 minutes on Indian roads. A trauma related death occurs in India every 1.9 minutes. It is alarming to note that the magnitude of the problem is growing and growing and little has been done in this regard to handle this menace [1].

Unfortunately, in our part of the country things have assumed an ugly turn. The paradise has been engulfed by different forms of trauma. Since early nineties with the advent of militancy in Kashmir valley, we have been working day in and out to handle different catastrophes resulting because of war weaponry in the form of blasts, bullets, grenades, shells and bombs. We have faced trauma in almost all its nefarious designs. Let me remind you of October 8, 2005, 9:20 am when all of us were ready to leave our shelters, the whole valley was shaken by a ghost tremor and within no time deaths and destruction surrounded us. What a natural fury! 80,000 deaths is a recorded figure and leaving many homeless. A few years later, in 2008 we landed back in nineties when an upheaval hit us. Our hospitals were loaded with all kinds of traumas. Memories are still fresh with yet another disaster that visited us in 2010 and 2012. The hullabaloo and the pandemonium created by the influx of these trauma victims where even not only the doctors but a common man had an easy ingress to theatres intentionally to save the war weaponry victims. The Department of Surgery and its Allied Specialities did an excellent work to save these precious human lives despite the paucity of infrastructure and desired structured trauma unit. The nightmare is still fresh. Yes, this refers to the devastating deluge that took us unaware overnight in September, 2014 with a surprise in the morning with almost whole valley swimming in waters. It was just near to apocalypse! Everything got shattered; we squared back to zero and had to start with the basic alphabets to resuscitate ourselves and our devastated healthcare system. Thanks to all those voluntary organisations, Govt. of J&K and other philanthropists who helped the gasping valley back to track. It was a new beginning. It seems God’s fury is haunting the soul of valley. 8th July, 2016 brought a misery of a different dimension when yet another turmoil cropped up. South Kashmir was badly hit. Residents, Consultants, Heads of the Departments, Heads of the Administration, Paramedics with the Principal Medical College were trapped in the hospital intentionally to work day in and out in their respective capacities to handle this disaster. Govt. Medical College, SKIMS, JVC, Directorate of Health Services worked in collaboration to handle this crisis [1].

While perusing the departmental records, I gathered the data for retrospective figures; the hospital has handled till now. The data traced from 1990 to 2016 shows that a total figure of around 20,000 patients have been received solely by the Department of Surgery [2].

It is mandatory to note that much and much more needs to be done to conquer this growing menace of trauma in our place. It is the need of the hour to have a structured trauma unit, if not a hospital which will be backed by trained traumatologists, ATLS personnel and skilled paramedics with latest gadgets of handling trauma. It is my inference that the recent turmoil has taught us a lesson and we need to accept it, approve it and work on it at an early hour to save our progeny.

References

1. Ghulam Nabi Lone M.S, M.Ch, Ghulam Qadir Peer M.S (2001) An experience with abdominal trauma in adults in Kashmir.JK-Practitioner 8(4): 225-30.
2. M. wani, Chalkoo. M, Makhdoomi P.H.A., Banotra . A, Mueed. A, et.al (2017) An Analysis of War Weaponry Trauma Victims from a Medical College Setting in Kashmir Valley. Surgical Science 8: 9-18.
3. Mumtazdin Wani, Mushtaq Chalkoo, Peer Hilal Ahmad Makhdoom, Ankush Banotra, Mueed Yousuf Sofi (2016) Penetrating Abdominal Trauma; an Overview of Recent Turmoil in Kashmir Valley. J Surgery 4:1-3.