Uzbek gets ear deformity surgery in Amandeep Hospital

Prefers Amritsar, says huge number of cases of deformities in Uzbekistan

Amritsar 1st May ( Punjab Post Bureau)-Amritsar is fast emerging as a hub of plastic surgery and orthopedic care amongst south Asian countries. Thus, thousands of miles did not deter Uzbekistan national “Gulya Kubakova” a 40 year old mother to get her 14-year old son Umbarov Ochil to Amritsar’s Amandeep hospital for correction of congenital deformed ears. And it wasn’t that Gulya came on a whim, without preparation or required skills to get around the language problem faced in India for non-English speaking foreign nationals; her husband Dr  Umbarov Baxtiyar head physician in the department of Tuberculosis in the city of Smarkand, got a specialized software  installed named ‘Prompt Professional 9.0’ in her laptop that could instantly convert written Uzbek and Russian into English. He had been using the software for his foreign interactions in the medical circles all over the world, he said over phone from Uzbekistan. Being alone with her son, Gulya, a teacher in ‘School no 24’ in Samarkand, said new technology  helped her greatly in explaining her problem and vice versa understanding the doctor’s take on the condition and other vital issues related to plastic surgery care and aftercare. While talking to media persons through a local interpreter Gulya said was in a dilemma when doctors in Uzbekistan offered her no guarantees for complicated plastic surgery for her son.

On her preference for Amritsar, Gulya said “Her husband and father of  her 14 –year old son, Dr Baxtiyar got new hope when A medical team from Amandeep Hospital in Amritsar flew to Uzbekistan for Project ‘Uzbek Smile’ — an initiative of the US-based NGO, Smile Train, to help those suffering from cleft lip and palate in the central Asian country”. The team in May last year, did almost 60 surgeries in Urgench in a period of 10-days for split cleft and palette. And added –“Determined to lose no more time in wasteful deliberations in our own country  as success rate of these are very low, we as  parents decided to get the complicated surgery done at Amandeep Hospital” in Amritsar. The city which has already earned the sobriquet of “Mecca of Eye care” is fast gaining ground as the hub of  orthopedics and plastic surgery too, with world renowned surgeons in the city have  patients already seeking treatment coming from Delhi, Kolkatta, Patna , Varanasi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir but in the last few years, people from  South Asia countries are increasingly showing interest in getting themselves treated in Amritsar . The corrective surgery was performed on Ochil’s right year by a team of plastic surgeons headed by Dr Ravi Mahajan HoD Plastic surgery, Dr Harish Ghildiyal and others. Dr mahajan said the surgery took more than 5 hours and is in three stages for both ears . with a gap of three months two other surgeries are performed for a single ear. On a query he said they can perform surgery on one ear at a time so that the patient can lay his head on the other side. The doctors said it takes abut 10 days of active monitoring of patient for recovery. The cartilage was taken from chest and carved to be grafted on the ear for the correction. Ochil seemed happy and excited about the repair of his ear looking normal again and keen to show it off to his classmates and friends in school.

The doctors said it has been scientifically proved that many of these deformities occur due to prevalence of consanguineous marriages in some communities. These marriages are solemnized amongst first cousins and even mental deformities are common congenital occurrences. However Gulya says her husband and she were not related but admits that in her country having  majority Islamic population, there is a common practice of consanguineous marriages and defects such as these are common place. She said there were loads of cases of such deformities in her immediate social enviornemnt and corrective surgery for her son would boost confidence of those who can afford treatment. Dr Avtar Singh and Dr Amandeep Kaur directors of the hospital stated that hospital is providing a number of facilities for the benefit of our International Patients. Guest Relation officers and Nurses managers are available round the clock. Hospital is providing free interpreters along with Visa and Travel assistance. Dr. Amandeep added that hospital is also providing sight seeing tours of patients and their relative to showcase the heritage of the city.