Is India Winning the War Against Rising Non-Communicable Diseases? The latest health statistics paint a concerning picture: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer rates are climbing, impacting millions across the country. From rural healthcare access to the burgeoning urban health crisis, challenges remain significant. This week, we delve into the crucial initiatives underway – government policies, technological advancements in telemedicine, and the rising role of preventative healthcare – that aim to address this national health emergency. Experts weigh in on the effectiveness of current strategies and the critical need for increased public awareness campaigns targeting lifestyle diseases. Are these efforts enough? Explore Abtak.com's in-depth coverage on healthcare in India and discover the vital information you need to protect your well-being and the future of public health. Stay informed; stay healthy.
Chandigarh: In a landmark advancement in urological surgery and male infertility treatment, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has successfully performed India's first robot-assisted vasovasostomy -- a sophisticated procedure to reverse vasectomy -- using cutting-edge robotic technology.The breakthrough surgery was performed on July 9, 2025, by a skilled team led by Dr Aditya Prakash Sharma, Dr Girdhar Bora, both Additional Professors, and Prof Ravi Mohan from the Department of Urology. This pioneering intervention replaces the traditional microscope-based technique with the precision of robotic surgery, marking a major leap forward in reproductive microsurgery in India.The patient, a 43-year-old male presenting with secondary infertility following a vasectomy, underwent the procedure using the da Vinci Surgical System. He was discharged the very next day, signaling a swift and successful recovery.Vasovasostomy, commonly known as vasectomy reversal, is a highly intricate microsurgical operation that involves reconnecting the severed ends of the vas deferens to restore the passage of sperm and enable natural conception. Traditionally dependent on high-powered microscopes, the PGIMER team broke new ground by harnessing robotic assistance -- offering three-dimensional magnified visualization, enhanced precision, and superior suturing stability."This innovation reflects PGIMER's unwavering commitment to integrating next-generation technology into patient care," said Dr Aditya Prakash Sharma, the lead surgeon. "Robot-assisted vasovasostomy not only improves accuracy but also reduces surgeon fatigue and eliminates tremor -- allowing the use of ultra-fine sutures, even thinner than a strand of human hair. It opens a new horizon for couples desiring natural conception post-vasectomy."Echoing this sentiment, Prof Ravi Mohan highlighted the broader implications: "This successful procedure showcases the versatility of robotic platforms beyond their conventional use in cancer and reconstructive surgeries. It paves the way for expanded applications in andrology and microsurgery."With this surgical first, India joins an elite global league of centres equipped to offer robot-assisted vasovasostomy. PGIMER plans to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals to encourage larger clinical adoption across India and beyond.The team credited the vision and support of Prof Uttam Mete, Head of the Urology Department, and Prof Vivek Lal, director of PGIMER, for enabling such high-precision innovations. Their guidance, they said, played a vital role in turning this milestone into a reality.This achievement not only reinforces PGIMER's reputation as a centre of excellence but also signals a promising future for male infertility treatment in India, said Lal.
Thrissur, June 7: Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko, who was injured when his car crashed with a lorry at Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, will need to undergo surgery on his left hand, according to doctors attending on him. Speaking to the media here on Saturday, doctors attached to a private hospital in Thrissur said the surgery will take place anytime after the funeral of Chacko's father on Monday. "The actor and his mother were brought from Dharmapuri late on Friday night. Chacko has left humerus multiple fractures, an issue in the backbone's vertebrae, besides having multiple concussions on his ...Read More >
NewsVoir Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 9: On the occasion of IVF Day 2025, healthcare professionals and fertility experts at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital have come together to mark a pivotal moment in medical history. More than four decades later, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has become a life-changing option for millions of couples worldwide who struggle with infertility. This day is not only a tribute to the advancements in reproductive medicine but also a call to action - to raise awareness, eliminate stigma, and ensure that fertility care is accessible, affordable, and compassionate. ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Lower back pain is a national crisis that can affect the country's productivity, said Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Friday, urging entrepreneurs to build India's first AI-powered spinal diagnostic platform. He was addressing the 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery-Asia Pacific (SMISS-AP), in Mumbai. The Adani Group Chairman expressed shock over lower back pain becoming a leading cause of disability in the country and noted how it can destroy the dreams of the nation. "I was shocked to learn that low back pain is n ...Read More >
The Army Hospital in Delhi achieves a significant medical milestone by performing a rare hearing implant on a young child and introducing cutting-edge technology for complex eye surgeries like Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, setting benchmarks for Armed Forces medical facilities in India. The Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in Delhi has successfully executed a rare and intricate hearing implant surgery on a 1.8-year-old girl plagued by Michel Aplasia. This condition involves an underd ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Two liver failure patients in Coimbatore -- a 59-year-old in GEM Hospital and a 53-year-old in Sri Ramakrishna Hospital -- were desperate when doctors told them a transplant would be complicated as their wives' organs were incompatible. However, their doctors found a possibility for a swap transplant, which allows patients to exchange donors with another family in a similar situation.Both hospitals performed the surgeries simultaneously in two different operation theatres located 5 km ap ...Read More >
CHENNAI: GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, located five-kilometre apart in Coimbatore, have pulled off simultaneous liver transplants for two men in their fifties, involving an inter-hospital swap of organs from donors, who were each other's wives. Addressing the media here on Friday, the hospitals claimed that this was the first time in India that such liver transplants involving inter-hospital swap were done. The patients, aged 59 from Salem and 53 from Tiruppur respectively admitted in GEM and Ramakrishna hospitals, were in dire need of liver transplants. Although their respective ...Read More >
Medak: Telangana State BJP President N. Ramchander Rao on Friday appealed to the people to give the committed party an opportunity to meet the aspirations of the poor and downtrodden. Addressing a large gathering of party workers in Medak, the BJP chief remarked that citizens have experienced the rule of the BRS and the Congress party and have had bitter experiences with the deceitful practices of both. He urged people to support the BJP wholeheartedly in the upcoming local body elections as a way to teach the ruling Congress party a lesson for its unfulfilled promises. Rao emphasized that t ...Read More >
Bangalore Gold Rate Today: Shattering all hopes of retail jewellery buyers of some relief amid the ongoing Navratri festival, gold rates in Bangalore, and other Indian cities broke another record on Monday, September 29. The price of gold in Bangalore, aka Bengaluru, witnessed a sharp surge bringing 24 karat gold Rs 16,000 above the historic Rs 1 lakh mark. The gold price rally in Karnataka capital mirrored the surge in gold rate in India and across the world. The sharp rally in precious metal is on its path to beat the record-rally of 1979. Multiple factors like US Fed rate cut, trade becau ...Read More >
In a shocking incident in Pune, a 73-year-old man had a stent left inside his body for two years following an ERCP procedure in 2022. Despite being instructed to return for its removal, the patient forgot, leading to the development of stones in the bile duct. After experiencing severe symptoms, including stomach pain and jaundice, doctors discovered the stent during an ultrasound. Surgeons at Mhaske Hospital performed successful laparoscopic surgery to remove the stent and stones. The patient is now recovering after the surgery, highlighting the importance of follow-up care after medical proc ...Read More >
PNN Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], December 17: Vadodara-based Gujarat Kidney and Super Speciality Limited is a multispecialist company providing healthcare services at several locations in Gujarat. The company is bringing an IPO on the NSE and BSE mainboard to meet its desired capital requirements for the proposed acquisition of Parekhs Hospital in Ahmedabad, partial payment of the purchase consideration for the already acquired "Ashwini Medical Center", financing the company's capital expenditure requirements for setting up a new hospital in Vadodara, purchase of robotics equipment for the Vad ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Surgeries under Urology Unit I at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, led by the Head of the Department Dr Haris Chirakkal, is all set to resume following an intervention by Health Minister Veena George. The procedure had been halted after the probe used in the EMS lithoclast device malfunctioned last week. Following this, the Health Minister directed officials to ensure that a replacement probe was provided without delay. However, similar surgeries were carried out by another urology unit in the hospital the very next day, despite allegations that the surgic ...Read More >
VMPLNew Delhi [India], September 25: One of the most important things a person should do when confronted with fertility problems is to select a suitable IVF clinic. How to choose the best IVF clinic in Chennai is not just about being famous or getting the most significant number of advertisements. It means knowing the factors that have a direct impact on your getting pregnant successfully. A woman in her late 20s or 30s, a couple that has been struggling with infertility, an international patient ...Read More >
Saveetha Medical College & Hospital collaborates with Apollo Hospitals to offer affordable liver transplants in India. This alliance brings world-class care at reduced costs, making life-saving surgeries accessible to all. The partnership combines Apollo's medical expertise with Saveetha's social mission, transforming healthcare accessibility nationwide. In a landmark agreement poised to transform the landscape of affordable tertiary healthcare in India, Saveetha Medical College & Hospital has p ...Read More >
VMPL Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 17: Cytecare Hospitals, a leading cancer and multi-speciality hospital known for its patient-centric and evidence-based care, has received the official license to perform kidney transplants. This milestone marks a significant step in strengthening the hospital's comprehensive organ care program and providing life-saving treatment options to patients with end-stage kidney disease. With this development, patients can now benefit from a multidisciplinary transplant team comprising experienced nephrologists, urologists, transplant surgeons, anesthesiol ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Firecracker-related eye injuries continued on the second day of Deepavali. Between Sunday and Tuesday, the total number of eye injuries treated in the city's eye hospitals touched 96, including 48 children. Most of the cases were minor injuries.On Tuesday, there were four cases, including one child, at Minto Hospital. Two were grievous injuries, while the other two were simple injuries caused by crackers such as bijli roll, atom bomb, flowerpot, Lakshmi bomb, and rockets. In the past t ...Read More >
Lucknow: A three-year-old girl, sleeping with her mother under a bridge near Alambagh metro station, was abducted, raped and dumped in a nearby thickets in the city on Wednesday/Thursday night.The victim suffered deep wounds in her private parts and is recuperating at a hospital.Police teams have been formed to track down the miscreant, said DCP Central Ashish Srivastava.A case under the charges of rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), 2012, was registered against the unidentified miscreant.The police teams were scanning CCTV footage to reach the rapist."Off ...Read More >
The second toe from the amputated leg was used to reconstruct the thumb. (Representative) New Delhi: When fate cost a 20-year-old Delhi man his thumb, his foot came to the rescue. In a rare surgery, doctors used a toe from his amputated leg to rebuild the missing finger. The man sustained grievous injuries in a road accident involving a bike and a tractor, which led to the complete amputation of his left leg below the knee and his left thumb, according to a statement from Sir Ganga Ram Hospita ...Read More >
Thrissur, June 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko, who was injured when his car crashed with a lorry at Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu, will need to undergo surgery on his left hand, according to doctors attending on him. Speaking to the media here on Saturday, doctors attached to a private hospital in Thrissur said the surgery will take place anytime after the funeral of Chacko's father on Monday. "The actor and his mother were brought from Dharmapuri late on Friday night. Chacko has left humerus multiple fractures, an issue in the backbone's vertebrae, besides having multiple co ...Read More >
Kurnool: World Heart Day 2025 is being observed globally with the theme "Don't Miss a Beat." This year's theme underscores the importance of proactive heart health, reminding everyone that every heartbeat matters and that sustainable, small steps in daily life can help prevent premature cardiovascular diseases. It also serves as a call to action, encouraging people to stay alert to warning signs and seek timely medical care to safeguard their heart health. Explaining the significance of this year's theme, Dr. Chinta Prabhakar Reddy, MS, MCh, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Government General Hospital ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 11: Lower back pain is a national crisis that can affect the country's productivity, said Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Friday, urging entrepreneurs to build India's first AI-powered spinal diagnostic platform. He was addressing the 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery-Asia Pacific (SMISS-AP), in Mumbai. The Adani Group Chairman expressed shock over lower back pain becoming a leading cause of disability in the country and noted how it can destroy the dreams of the nation. "I was shocked to learn that low back pain is now a leading cause ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Two liver failure patients in Coimbatore -- a 59-year-old in GEM Hospital and a 53-year-old in Sri Ramakrishna Hospital -- were desperate when doctors told them a transplant would be complicated as their wives' organs were incompatible. However, their doctors found a possibility for a swap transplant, which allows patients to exchange donors with another family in a similar situation.Both hospitals performed the surgeries simultaneously in two different operation theatres located 5 km apart in Coimbatore. "Real-time video feeds were established to monitor surgical progress and coordin ...Read More >
Chandigarh: Marking one of the highest claims facilitated under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna to date, a ₹4 lakh life-saving surgery was delivered cashless, reflecting the scale and on-ground effectiveness of the Bhagwant Mann Government's healthcare system. The beneficiary, Sukhpal Kaur, a 37-year-old resident of Chandigarh, was admitted to PGIMER Chandigarh after being diagnosed with a critical aortic dissection, a serious cardio-thoracic and vascular condition requiring immediate surgical intervention. The procedure, along with hospitalisation and specialised care, was estimated to cost near ...Read More >
Dibrugarh: Three YouTubers were arrested in Dhemaji on Thursday for the brutal killing of wild birds and uploading graphic footage of their acts on their YouTube channel 'Jakrub'. The accused have been identified as Munindra Mushahary, Maheshwar Swargiary and Shiviram Swargiary.The trio reportedly hunted birds and destroyed nests at the Pitoni region of Hastinapur and Kardoiguri villages, an ecologically sensitive area. They used slingshots to kill birds and collected hundreds of eggs from their nesting grounds. The videos, which showed the destruction of habitats and killing of birds, sparked ...Read More >
New Delhi: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) -- a common fungal infection that claims 340,000 lives every year worldwide, can turn lethal for about 1 in three people with lung diseases, finds a study by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital. CPA, caused by exposure to airborne spores of the mould Aspergillus, causes gradual scarring of the lungs for months and years. It is a debilitating condition that causes severe tiredness, weight loss, breathlessness, and coughing up blood. While exposure to Aspergillus is harmless to most people, ...Read More >
Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 9: On the occasion of IVF Day 2025, healthcare professionals and fertility experts at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital have come together to mark a pivotal moment in medical history. More than four decades later, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has become a life-changing option for millions of couples worldwide who struggle with infertility. This day is not only a tribute to the advancements in reproductive medicine but also a call to action - to raise awareness, eliminate stigma, and ensure that fertility care is accessible, affordable, and compassionate. Also Read ...Read More >
Mumbai, Oct 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) Actress Deepika Padukone, who has been a strong advocate for mental health awareness, reacted to cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues' recent revelation about battling anxiety. The 'Om Shanti Om' actress, known for openly sharing her own struggles with depression in the past, praised Jemimah for her honesty and courage in speaking up, highlighting the importance of conversations around mental well-being in sports and beyond. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Deepika Padukone reshared a video of cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues, in which the athlete opened up about her struggl ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The police claim that they have come across a message sent by Bengaluru surgeon Mahendra Reddy to his lover moments after he allegedly killed his wife Kruthika with a lethal dose of anaesthetics on April 23 this year. Kruthika was also a doctor and the couple worked at a hospital in the city. Mahendra has since been arrested. According to NDTV, forensic analysis of his phone revealed a chilling message he sent to his lover shortly after the crime. The message, sent via a digital payment app, read: "I killed my wife for you." It has been reported that the 32-year-old general surge ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The BJP rushed to the defence of the state government over its decision to introduce Hindi as an optional language for Classes 1 to 5 after the Thackeray cousins announced their decision to hold a joint morcha against "imposition" of Hindi in state schools.CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said Marathi is compulsory, Hindi is optional. "Basically, students can learn any Indian language. We have accepted the three-language policy. When NE was introduced, the Uddhav Thackeray govt was in office. An 18-member committee was set up to study the policy, and in 2021 the Thackeray govt accepted i ...Read More >
Srinagar: Searches are being carried out by Jammu and Kashmir Police's counter-intelligence wing at multiple locations in the Valley in connection with a terror case, officials said. The searches by Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) are underway at 10 locations across four districts of the Kashmir Valley, the officials said. Searches are being conducted to locate terrorist sleeper cells and recruitment modules. The CIK searches are being conducted in six locations in Ganderbal, two in Budgam, and one each in Pulwama and Srinagar, they said. ...Read More >
Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 19 (ANI): Two hospitals in Coimbatore have collaboratively performed the country's first-ever inter-hospital swap liver transplant, giving a new lease of life to two patients suffering from end-stage liver disease. GEM Hospital Coimbatore was also the first in India to perform laparoscopic living donor surgery in 2017. The complex procedure was successfully executed through a joint effort between GEM Hospital and Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore, marking a historic medical feat that required meticulous planning right from the stage of patient evalua ...Read More >