Dr. Vikram .R. Lotwala

On the 10th Anniversary of our Kargil war victory lets remember our heroes who have laid their lives for our country and us. Captain Vikram Batra Batra's Yeh Dil Maange More! (My heart asks for more!), erstwhile a popular slogan for a Pepsi commercial, became an iconic battle cry that swept across the country and remains popular with millions of Indians, invoked at patriotic public events, in memory of the war and the soldiers, and as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Indian patriotism and valor in face of future attacks. Captain Vikram Batra (September 9, 1974 – July 7, 1999) was an officer of the Indian Army, posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest award for valour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Early life and career Vikram Batra was born on September 9th, 1974 in Ghuggar village near Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, to Mr. G.L. Batra and Mrs. Jai Kamal Batra. Batra joined the Indian Military Academy in De...

Here are excerpts from a fantastic article written by Dr. Ara Darzi in NEJM. There is a message in the article for all doctors and medical policy makers regarding medical insurance and policy making towards it. The message is very pertinent not only to western countries but India as well. "William Beveridge, the economist whose 1942 report led to the founding of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), famously said that “a revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.” 1 Given the combination of the global downturn and the time bomb that is health insurance costs, there is no denying that health care in the United States has reached such a moment. This matter is too important to be left to the politicians and policymakers; there is an urgent requirement for professional clinicians to step up and lead the debate. Every country in the developed world confronts a similar challenge right now: finding a way to create a well-resourc...

After the recent strike by MARD in maharastra now the FHO in Maharastra are on strike. Unconfirmed reports say that the JDA (Junior Doctor Association) Gujarat is also planning for strike tomorrow onwards. These both associations main demand is salary hike. Is it justified or not, I am no authority to decide. There are some points definately to ponder. The residents quaters in Maharastra and specially Mumbai are horrible. I mean what i say. Same way, the services in villages have no incentives for doctors to stay there. Patient services in rural hospitals and primary health centres came to a grinding halt on Tuesday with more than 8,000 doctors from the Federation of Health Officers (FHO) going on a strike for an indefinite period. Only deliveries, emergencies and post-mortems were conducted. The FHO, comprising medical officers, district health officers and civil surgeons at rural healthcare centres (including mental and civil hospitals), has been demanding a better pay scale and time...

Boston: Using an endoscope to remove leg veins for heart bypass surgery appears to damage the veins and makes patients 52% more likely to die within three years, doctors reported. Although the technique is meant to be less invasive and gentler, it may in fact damage the vein and lead to heart attacks, the researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. About 70% of bypass patients now have their leg vein removed endoscopically, in part because it produces much less scarring and infection to the leg than the traditional method, known as “open harvesting”, in which the vein is taken by directly cutting along a stretch of the leg. Endoscopes are little cameras that can be inserted, sometimes with surgical instruments, via a small incision in the skin. They are widely used for a range of procedures and have been used for vein harvesting for 13 years. But the study of 3,000 patients found veins removed by the endoscopic technique were significantly more likel...

When you're living with diabetes, what you can't feel can still hurt you. This is especially true when it comes to your feet and the nerve damage you may be suffering. If you've just learned you have diabetes, you should arrange to meet with a podiatrist and talk about the importance of foot care, say experts Erika M. Schwartz, DPM, a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) and Dr. David G. Armstrong, a podiatric surgeon and professor at the University of Arizona's Department of Surgery. Here, help for sidestepping the foot pain complications of diabetes. People with nerve damage should avoid wearing sandals with straps that weave between the toes, or those that place pressure against the foot. Q. When it comes to foot care, what is the first thing ...

You know you need zero title to show up at leadership - both within your work and at your home. I've been in the trenches - developing Leaders Without Titles within organizations - for nearly 15 years. Here are some of the personal habits I've seen the best of the best model: 1. They ask brilliant questions. 2. They are fit like athletes (as I mentioned on Twitter the other day "Your #1 business asset is your health".) 3. They are direct/clear/authentic communicators 4. They read (The best leaders have the biggest libraries! Read to Win). 5. They keep journals to record good ideas, lessons learned and dreams to be executed on. 6. The run their own race. Leadership isn't about following the mob and being like everyone else. That's followership. 7. They are ethical - maintaining pristine reputations. 8. They lead where they are planted, deeply understanding that leadership is a way of behaving versus a title on a business card. Source : Robinsharma.com