In what is good news for the patients who are unable to bear the high cost of plastic surgery, a team of 15 specialists from United States of America (USA) is visiting Dehradun for a free plastic surgery camp.
The eleven day camp would start on April 04. Informing about the camp, the Vice President of the Helping Hands hospital, where the camp would be organised, Dr Yogi Aron said that the patients intending to get the benefit of free surgery from the specialists should register themselves at the hospital located on Dhoran Road, near IT Park from 7 AM to 10 AM during the camp days. He said that camp is financed by the Resurge International of USA. This organisation has 15 Outreach centers in the world and Dehradun is one of them. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Resurge International, Beverly Kent said that the organization is holding such camps in Dehradun from the year 2006 and more than 2000 patients have benefited from these camps so far. She said that the organisation caters mainly the burn cases.
Dr Aron presented the case of a poor Bear attack victim Basanti Devi (60 years) and requested the officials of the organisation to consider such patients for the free surgery camp. The plea was accepted. Basanti Devi a resident of Chaurasain, Bhatwadi of Chamoli district was mauled by a wild bear on December 09 last year. She was treated at Base hospital Srinagar where after healing of wounds she was advised facial reconstruction surgery. This surgery is very expensive. Dr Aron said many cases of Bear attack are reported in Uttarakhand and in most of the cases the victims are women and belong to poor families. He claimed that he had done free facial reconstruction surgery on many such patients in past. Recounting his experience he said, “I had treated a young bear attack victim and after her facial reconstruction I advised nose reconstruction surgery to her, she politely refused saying that it is not needed as she can eat, breath and talk now. Such is the simplicity of the people of the hills.’’
The Chief Plastic Surgeon King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital Mumbai, Dr Vinita Puri, Director of Hyderabad based Reconstructive Surgery India Sujata Mehta, Senior Surgeon Coronation Hospital Dr Kush Aron and other were present on the occasion.