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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Surgery saves boy who gulped tiny LED bulb

Mumbai : In a bizarre development, a small boy from Kolhapur swallowed a tiny LED light bulb a few months ago that got stuck deep in his...

Surgery saves boy who gulped tiny LED bulb

Mumbai : In a bizarre development, a small boy from Kolhapur swallowed a tiny LED light bulb a few months ago that got stuck deep in his lung causing huge trauma and emotional stress for his family, officials said.   When the unusual case was referred to the Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre (JHRC), a team of medicos successfully extricated the foreign object lodged in the three-and-half-year-old boy’s chest.   Recounting the remarkable feat, a JHRC official said the child, Aarav Patil was reported to be suffering from severe breathing difficulties and incessant coughing for almost three months.   Doctors treating him at his home town initially mistook it for pneumonia and subjected him to multiple courses of antibiotics and other medicines, but there was improvement in the boy’s condition.   Subsequently, he was taken for advanced tests, examinations and a CT Scan which revealed the shocker – a metallic object was sitting inside the boy’s left bronchus, partially blocking the airway.   More tests identified the offending object – it was a LED bulb from a toy car – a development so rare that even seasoned doctors described it as a ‘one in a million case’.   Though doctors in Kolhapur attempted to retrieve the foreign body through flexible bronchoscopy - a minimally invasive procedure - the attempts proved to be unsuccessful.   As Aarav’s condition appeared to deteriorate, his desperate family rushed him to JHRC and he was referred to a team of specialist doctors.   After studying his case and examining Aarav, the medical team comprising thoracic surgeon Dr. Vimesh Rajput, ENT surgeon Dr. Divya Prabhat and Dr. Anurag Jain discovered that the bulb had not only blocked the bronchus but had also embedded itself in the surrounding tissues of the lung tissue, making its removal extremely challenging.   A rigid bronchoscopy conducted further confirmed the severity of the obstruction. Left with no other option, the doctors decided to opt for a mini thoracotomy — a delicate surgery involving a 4-centimeter incision in the chest.   “This was one of the rarest cases we’ve encountered. The bulb was lodged in such a way that conventional methods could not retrieve it. Through careful planning and teamwork, we managed to safely remove the object by a mini thoracotomy and restored Aarav’s lung function,” explained Dr. Rajput.   Emphasising how such cases are ignored, Dr. Prabhat pointed out that chronic cough or breathing issues are often dismissed as common pneumonia or even asthma.   “However, such persistent symptoms must always be investigated thoroughly, especially through early detection and imaging which can make all the difference to the patient,” she averred.   JHRC CMO Dr. Milind Khadke said, “The foreign body aspiration in kids is far more common that parents may realise but quick intervention is critical to prevent long-term medical complications.”

Jarange’s decision harmful for MVA

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Jarange

Mumbai: Diwali is barely over but the fireworks are still exploding in the political arena. On the last day of withdrawing nominations for the upcoming elections, Manoj Jarange-Patil announced that he wouldn’t field any candidates for the polls. This was hours after he “vowed revenge” against the Mahayuti alliance. Only a day earlier on Sunday, he had claimed to back 25 candidates across the state. The BJP and Shiv Sena are heaving a sigh of relief especially for its candidates contesting from Marathwada, the epicentre of the quota protests and other constituencies with a sizeable Maratha population. But the real cheer, say political watchers, is in the MVA especially the NCP (SP).

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Party insiders say that when minister Uday Samant and the chief minister’s personal assistant held a midnight meeting with Manoj Jarange-Patil at Antarvali- Saraati, a few days before Diwali, it is believed that the duo was tasked with convincing the Maratha quota activist to name candidates wherever he wanted. The Mahayuti would unconditionally back those. These candidates would be used to hurt the chances of the MVA candidates. It would have been a coup had he accepted. Incidentally, the NCP (SP) has nominated candidates from several seats in Marathwada with a special emphasis on the region.


Jarange-Patil’s withdrawal announcement met with a sharp rebuke from Laxman Hate who mocked him by saying that “calls from Baramati” were responsible for the change of heart. But the decision is likely to, indeed, benefit the NCP (SP) apart from other members of the MVA. While Jarange-Patil claimed that he couldn’t get the support of Muslims and Dalits and didn’t want to back only Maratha candidates, the real reasons are different.


In Parli which falls in Beed, which is the heartland of the protests, the NCP (SP) has played the Maratha card well by fielding Rajesahe Deshmukh against Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde. The seat is seeing friction between Marathas and OBCs and Jarange-Patil’s decision will help consolidate the Maratha vote in favour of Deshmukh. Similarly, in Majalgaon in the same district, Mohan Jagtap will now not have to contend with the Maratha votes breaking up in favour of a candidate backed by Jarange-Patil. A few days ago, the activist had vowed by put up candidates in Daund and Parvati, one held by the BJP and the other by the NCP (SP).


Marathas constitute 30 to 33 per cent of the electorate in Maharashtra. The MVA expects to win the Maratha vote in most constituencies while the OBCs have traditionally shown more faith in the BJP ever since Gopinath Munde, an OBC leader, rose up the party’s ranks.


Last week, Samarjeet Ghatge, the NCP (SP)’s pick from Kagal had also met Jarange-Patil to seek his cooperation and support considering that Kagal also has a sizeable Maratha population. A candidate backed by Jarange-Patil would have eaten into Ghatge’s voteshare. The eal agenda of the meeting also apparently involved a plea by Ghatge for Jarange-Patil not to put up candidates that would upset the MVA’s chances with caste mathematics. Ghatge was supposedly selected for the job given his family’s relationship with Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, the erstwhile royal who is highly respected for working towards equality for all castes.


At present, Jarange-Patil is one public persona in Maharashtra who no party wants to be on the wrong side of. Given the massive following that he enjoys among the community, all political parties and candidates are seeking his support. The announcement that all parties were waiting for will relieve the pressures of the Mahayuti in a few constituencies but is likely to benefit the NCP (SP) the most.

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