Roshan Radhakrishnan's Blog, page 22

Public Awareness: Types of Anaesthesia

In the previous 'public awareness about anaesthesia' article, I had given you a (hopefully) simple explanation about what General Anaesthesia is. Of course, that brings us to another very common question - what other types of anaesthesia are there?


Anaesthesia can be divided into 3 broad groups -


GeneralRegionalLocal

There are subdivisions here so I will try to help you understand in a simple manner.


I. General Anaesthesia
What

Drug-induced, reversible state where the patient will be unconscious a...

Public Awareness: General Anaesthesia

Over the years, many from the public have explained their impression of general anaesthesia to me.
The answers range from 'You give stuff like chloroform and wait for people to regain consciousness.' to 'You put a tube in the mouth and machines do everything.' to 'You give one drug and then leave the operation theater while the surgeon takes care of the patient till he wakes up.'

The truth is, even today, many aren't really aware of what anaesthesiologists do inside the operation theater. It is...

How Anaesthesia Defeated Religious Beliefs to Change the World for Women

Browse through your social media timeline today and invariably there seems to be posts about how religions are under threat, either by opposing religions or often one's own followers, hellbent on changing old traditions.

A strain that runs through most of those traditions - across all the main religions - is about how women need to 'know their place and endure' because God said so. People standing up to that concept, demanding women be treated fair, tend to be labeled many a derogatory te...

50 Promises I Make To My Heart #WorldHeartDay

The theme for World Heart Day this year is 'My Heart, Your Heart'. Compassionate and yet motivational, the theme bonds you and those you care about, asking the key question - "What can I do to look after MY HEART as well as YOUR HEART?" For us in the medical field, there is of course a third connection - how can we look after YOUR HEART?
A key secondary factor that the World Heart Day focuses on this year is to inspire us all to commit and show intent to 'MAKE A PROMISE' to ourselves and...

Rajaram - School teacher, Bus driver, Hero of kindness #WATWB

Science, Mathemathics and Physical Education (yes, all-in-one!) teacher Rajaram of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi faced a unique problem. His students were leaving school because their only means to reach there was through a 3 kilometer hike (one way) through dense forests.



With the numbers falling steadily, the school faced closure threatening the future of the remaining children who were attending. Determined to do something, Rajaram convinced two former alumni of the Baarali Government Higher Prima...

The Man who Provides a Full Meal to the Poor for One Rupee #IndianHeroes

One rupee. What can you get for it in today's India? Perhaps even an India of ten years ago?

Ask the relatives of patients at the Erode General Hospital in Tamil Nadu and they will give you an astounding answer. You see, one rupee ($ 0.00014) gets them a full meal of rice, vegetable curry, sambhar and rasam.

The person to thank for this sits in an unassuming lunch home called Shri AMV Homely Mess.


The Incident That Changed Venkataraman's Life
V. Venkataraman's heartstrings were stirred a decade a...

Harekala Hajabba: The street vendor who built a school by selling oranges #IndianHeroes

Chances are, you would ignore  Harekala Hajabba if you saw him outside your car window, trying to sell oranges to you. You would never recognize him. After all, he is just a street vendor selling his wares. Except he isn't 'just' an ordinary vendor.



For over four decades,  Harekala Hajabba has been making a 23 km trip from his village to Mangalore every morning with his basket of oranges to earn his livelihood. For the last 18 years, he doesn't spend the money entirely on his family...

Poll: Have you ever had pain during a surgery? #WordlessWednesday

Can you spot me in this picture?
Till recently, the longest surgery I had ever been a part of was a 11 hour marathon about a decade ago for reconstruction of the face and jaw. I broke that record a few months ago with a complicated surgery for cancer of the pancreas that ended up taking a little over 12 and a half hours. (That does not include the 8 calls I attended for the same patient in the ICU over the next 11 hours when a vital equipment started malfunctioning.) 
The best part is: the...

Lessons we can Learn From Celebrities who Battle Depression #SuicidePrevention

The theme for World Suicide Prevention Day for 2018 is 'Working Together to Prevent Suicide.' 
It seems simple enough, doesn't it? And yet, anyone suffering from depression would tell you how difficult it can be to both seek out and find help during their darkest moments. This year, I wanted to help you work together with some people 'you know'. These are no ordinary people, of course. 
These are celebrities you know, admire and often emulate. And while we do associate depression, sui...

The Chef who has served dignity alongside over 22.5 lakh free meals to the destitute #IndianHeroes

Narayanan Krishnan was living the dream of many a young Indian when his life was changed forever by an old man living on the street. A young internationally famous five star chef, Narayanan was due to travel to Switzerland for the next phase in his career when he saw a homeless old man on the road one day, unable to bear the pain of hunger, eating his own faeces. Getting out of his vehicle, he quickly purchased some food and gave it to the old man.

But the image haunted the chef for days and h...