Archive for month: July, 2024

Mumbai: A significant crowd gathered along the route of the victory parade for the Indian cricket team, celebrating their T-20 World Cup win in South Mumbai, resulting in at least 11 individuals being rushed to hospitals, an official said on Friday.

Nine were admitted to the state-run GT Hospital for suffering injuries or complaining of breathing difficulties due to excessive crowding. They are now in a stable condition, said the dean of JJ Group of Hospitals.

According to a PTI report, officials said one fan was taken to the government-run St George’s Hospital near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and was allowed to go after primary care. Another person was taken to a private hospital in south Mumbai and discharged after treatment. 

Police deployed a large number of personnel and made elaborate security arrangements between Marine Drive and Wankhede Stadium to avoid any untoward incident.

An eyewitness, Ravi Solanki shared his experience with ANI and said, “I was coming from the office and came to know that the Indian team would reach here between 5 pm-6 pm which did not happen. The crowd progressively swelled. The police were not managing the situation. People suddenly started shouting, after which some people fell on each other. It was very unorganised. There was nobody to manage. The incident happened between 8.15-8.45 pm.”  

Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar appreciated his force for effectively managing the crowd during the victory parade.

“A special appreciation to all my officers & staff of @MumbaiPolice for the exceptional crowd management at Marine Drive today amid the rains,” Phansalkar wrote in his official X handle.

“We made sure it remains a special moment for our Champions & the fans. Also thank you Mumbaikars, for your cooperation. We made it happen together!,” he added in the post, news agency PTI reported.

New Delhi: Doctors at Fortis Vasant Kunj successfully treated a 39-year-old Kenyan woman suffering from facial nerve schwannoma – an extremely rare tumour which grows on the Facial Nerve eventually causing – facial weakness, headaches, hearing and visual loss.

The team of doctors led by Dr Anurag Gupta, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery along with Dr Yogesh Jain, ENT and skull base Surgeon performed this rare and challenging surgery, to completely excise the tumor – which lasted for 15 hours. The patient was discharged after 12 days in a stable condition with no neurological deficits.  

Upon admission at Fortis Vasant Kunj, the woman was in a conscious state, irritable, had no vision in both eyes along with complete facial paralysis on the right side with hearing loss. She revealed that she had complaints of facial weakness, headaches along with hearing loss and visual loss for the past 3 years. She was evaluated with MRI brain and CT angiography brain, which revealed facial nerve schwannoma – a large tumour measuring 64.2 x 49.5 x 41.5 mm (size of a tennis ball) located in an intricate position which eventually caused facial palsy.  

Giving details of the case, Dr Anurag Gupta, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj said, “The woman had come to us from Kenya, as there she was advised a 2-step surgery each lasting around 20 -22 hours, with low chances of survival. We drilled the bone of her skull as skull base approaches like this allow access to large tumours of the brain without any pressure on brain which can be harmful to the brain.

The skull base bone drilling and preparation took nearly 4 hours before we started removing the benign tumor. Had she been not treated on time, she would have developed weakness in her hands and legs, difficulty in swallowing and eventually death due to increased pressure on the brain. At present, she is conscious, alert, walking on her own, has started seeing some light in the eyes and is eating and talking normally. The surgery had associated risk factors, if delayed or in case unsuccessful – risk of death, permanent paralysis or vegetative state.”

Facial nerve schwannomas are rare slow-growing tumours, accounting for less than 1% of all temporal bone tumours. Schwannoma grows on the seventh cranial nerve of the facial nerve. It is a benign tumor that grows slowly. It has afflicted less than 200,000 people worldwide and affects 1 in 50,000 people in India, according to cancer.gov.

Dr Gurvinder Kaur, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj said, “It was an extremely rare case and timely surgery was very critical. Despite being a life-threatening case, the doctors at Fortis Vasant Kunj under the leadership of Dr. Anurag Gupta could successfully perform the surgery. We will continue to do our best for our patients and ensure they receive the highest quality of medical care and attention.”

The expanded facility was inaugurated in a ceremony officiated by the Honourable Minister of Industries Tamil Nadu, Dr. T.R.B. Rajaa, British Deputy High Commissioner to India, Ms. Christina Scott CMG, AstraZeneca Vice President for Asia Area Ms Sylvia Varela, as well as AstraZeneca’s leadership team in the country.

“The investment marks a significant milestone in AstraZeneca’s growth story in India as it celebrates its 45th year in the country this month. With the highly skilled roles to be brought in by 2025, the expanded GITC will propel company’s vision to leverage technologies such as enterprise platforms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and supply chain analytics to shape healthcare outcomes,” the release stated.

Siva Padmanabhan, Managing Director, AstraZeneca India Private Limited said, “At AstraZeneca, we are evolving our technologies constantly so that we can stay ahead of the curve in healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to better serve our patients in countries where we operate. We are deeply invested in infusing the best of technology and innovation practices into the healthcare ecosystem.”

Dr. Sanjeev Panchal, Managing Director & Country President AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited, said, “Our expansion in Chennai signifies AstraZeneca’s unwavering commitment to pioneering science and innovation. India’s rich talent pool and dynamic ecosystem for digital advancements make it a pivotal hub for our global operations. This strategic investment underscores our dedication to improving patient outcomes through cutting-edge technology and reinforces our aspiration to transform the future of the healthcare industry. I am immensely proud of our team’s achievements and excited for the future as we continue to harness science to bring life-changing medicines to patients worldwide.”

GITC in Chennai currently occupies 334,000 square feet of office space at Ramanujan IT City, with plans to add approximately 180,000 square feet over the next six months to accommodate this expansion, creating AstraZeneca’s biggest global capability centre.

In addition to its innovative portfolio in specialist disease areas including oncology, cardio-vascular, respiratory and rare disease, the company has a strong hub for technology as well as research and development in India. Including the GITC, it employs more than 4000 in the country.

Read also: Sipavibart EMA regulatory submission accepted under accelerated assessment for COVID 19 prevention: AsraZeneca