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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.”

Sugar Daddy’s Bitter Fight

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil

Ahilyanagar (erstwhile Ahmednagar) is the largest district of Maharashtra area-wise. It sends 12 MLAs to the state assembly and hence political parties in the state always struggle to control this district. Since past few years, the current revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil who has won the Shirdi assembly constituency in the district for past seven times and is preparing for the eighth consecutive victory, has been undisputedly controlling the district.


Members of the Vikhe-Patil family, whose interests go beyond politics, have been part of almost all major parties in the last 70 years. The biggest contribution of the family in Maharashtra has been its role in setting up Asia’s first cooperative sugar mill in Ahmednagar right after independence by late Vitthalrao Vikhe-Patil under the guidance of then Congress stalwart Dhananjay Gadgil. It changed the rural economy and introduction of sugarcane as a cash crop contributed to uplift of people in villages and towns in several parts of Maharashtra.


Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil is the grandson of Vitthalrao Vikhe-Patil. Born on June 15, 1959, he began his political career as the district head of the Youth Congress in 1986. He won his first assembly election in 1994 from Shirdi on the Congress ticket. However, after his father left the party and joined Shiv Sena, Radhakrishna too resigned from post and quit the party. He won with a thumping majority in the by-polls and became minister for entrepreneurship and rehabilitation departments. He returned to the Congress in 2004 and was minister of School Education, Transport, Ports, Law and Judiciary, Agriculture, FDA and Marathi language, under different Chief Ministers Between 2008 and 2014. In 2014 he became the leader of opposition of the state assembly. In 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha election, his son Dr. Sujay joined the BJP leaving little chance for Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil but to follow him. He was entrusted with the responsibility of Housing department by the then CM Devendra Fadnavis. In 2022, Vikhe-Patil became the revenue minister under Eknath Shinde.


Throughout his career, Vikhe-Patil has been known for his focus on issues related to agriculture, rural development, and infrastructure. As minister for Agriculture, he implemented several initiatives aimed at improving the lives of farmers and boosting the state’s agricultural output, while as minister for School education he brought in schemes for improving educational infrastructure across the state. As transport minister he brought in smart ticketing system, initiated computerization of reservations and booking system. His tenure in the role of Agriculture minister was also marked by efforts to modernize agricultural practices, enhance market access for farmers, and address issues such as water scarcity and crop insurance.

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