Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
ORGAN DONATION & TRANSPLANTATION (ODT)
Organ Donation & Transplantation (ODT): ____ Jemima Layzell died of a brain aneurysm in 2012 and her organ donations have helped eight people including five children. ____ Prologue: In 1894, the surgeon Otto Lanz (1865–1935) warned his colleagues not to scoff at a treatment “which aims at replacing the organ that has lost its function in the organism”. Today, no one would doubt the seriousness of a surgeon who treats a disease by replacing an organ. However, it was only around 1900 that the idea of organ replacement became self-evident. The introduction of antibiotics, massive vaccinations of the general population to prevent infectious diseases, and organ transplantation may be considered the miracles of twentieth century medicine. Organ transplantation is the best therapy for terminal and irreversible organ failure. Transplantation has given many a new lease on life and, to many more, an extension that would have otherwise been impossible. […]
ALLERGY
ALLERGY: ______ ______ Prologue: Medical representatives of pharmaceutical industry frequently visit doctors to promote their products and shower doctors with drug samples, gifts and tours. One medical representative gifted me a perfume to promote his new product. I do not use perfumes. However, human mind is curious and when a perfume was given to me as a gift, I thought why not use it. Two weeks after using perfume, I developed itching skin rash over my body known as ‘Urticaria’ and dermatologist diagnosed it as allergy to perfume. The priciest perfumes and skin care products can cause allergic reactions because of the chemicals that give them their scent. In one fragrance, there may be as many as 26 allergens. The figure above shows urticarial skin rash in another patient. Allergy is not a disease but a mechanism which may play a role in a number of disorders. You can be allergic to anything […]
