Health Articles

Sickle Cell Transplant Outcomes: Evidence for a Cure

Bone marrow transplant, more precisely allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant, is the one curative treatment for sickle cell disease that is widely available to patients today. For sickle cell transplant outcomes,

June 14, 2026

Advances in Heart Valve Surgery

Heart valve surgery has advanced on four fronts since the first valve replacement in 1960: better mechanical and tissue valve designs, a strong shift towards repairing the mitral valve rather than replacing it, minimally invasive operations that avoid splitting the whole breastbone, and new sutureless and polymer valves. The aim throughout has been to reduce the trade-off between blood thinners and valve wear.

August 5, 2026

TAVI for Aortic Stenosis

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) treats severe aortic stenosis by replacing the narrowed valve through a catheter, usually passed up from the groin, without opening the chest. Aortic stenosis becomes steadily more common after 70 and is fatal within a few years of symptoms if left alone. For elderly and high-risk patients, TAVI is now the default treatment.

August 6, 2026

Advances in Heart Surgery and Cardiac Care

The defining advance in heart surgery is that many operations no longer need a long cut down the middle of the chest. Dr. Ajay Kaul, Chairman Cardiac Science, Fortis Hospital, Noida, India, said that a big midline incision is no longer the default; it remains standard for heart transplantation, most multi-vessel bypass and complex aortic surgery. Valves, bypass grafts and aneurysms can be treated through one or two inch cuts or a puncture in the leg, and most patients go home within days.

December 1, 2024

Spinal Surgery Technology

Spinal surgery technology is the set of tools that now surrounds a spinal operation: CT imaging inside the operating theatre, intraoperative neuromonitoring, high-magnification microscopes, endoscopes, and navigation with robotic guidance. Together they allow surgeons to work through small incisions with greater precision, so that patients who once expected months in bed now walk on the day of surgery or the next morning.

May 26, 2024

Indications for Spine Surgery

The indications for spine surgery fall into three groups: compression of the spinal cord or nerves that is causing or threatening a neurological deficit, structural instability such as spondylolisthesis, unstable fractures and deformity, and space-occupying lesions such as an epidural abscess or a tumour. In these groups, surgery is usually the only way to prevent permanent weakness or paralysis. Everything else starts with conservative care.

August 27, 2026

Advances in Spinal Surgery

The main advances in spinal surgery are the move from open incisions to microscopic tubular surgery and biportal endoscopy, supported by intraoperative 3D imaging, robotics, neuromonitoring and ultrasonic bone cutting. The principles of spine surgery have not changed: decompress the neural elements, stabilise what is unstable, restore balance. What has changed, almost completely, is how those goals are reached.

August 5, 2026

Robotic-Assisted Cardiac Surgery

Robotic-assisted cardiac surgery, often called robotic heart surgery, uses console-controlled robotic arms, passed through small ports between the ribs, to perform parts of a heart operation without splitting the breastbone. In Dr. Yugal Kishore Mishra's practice the robot harvests the mammary arteries for bypass grafting, closes atrial septal defects, removes atrial myxomas and can unroof myocardial bridges, with patients typically back at work in about three weeks.

January 26, 2025

Recent Advances in Spine and Neurosurgery

Recent advances in spine and neurosurgery, from endoscopic and robot-guided spine surgery to fluorescence-guided tumour removal and deep brain stimulation, have made operations smaller, more precise and safer. They have not removed every limit. Major complications after spine surgery run at about 2%, total risk in brain tumour surgery at around 5 to 7%, and patients with complete spinal cord injury are still not expected to recover completely.

May 31, 2026

Recent Advances in Neurosurgery: When Surgery Is Needed

Neurosurgery is needed when conservative treatment has reached its limit: medication no longer controls the pain, doses climb until side effects appear, or a neurological deficit such as limb weakness or bladder involvement develops. Recent advances in neurosurgery have made the operation itself far smaller, but they have not changed that test. Deciding when surgery is needed remains a judgement about timing, made against clear thresholds.

August 6, 2026

Robotic Knee Replacement

Robotic knee replacement is more precisely called robot-assisted total knee replacement: the surgeon performs the operation and a robotic arm, guided by a CT-based plan, helps place each bone cut within millimetres and degrees. It improves alignment and reduces soft tissue trauma and blood loss, but at ten years its functional results match conventional surgery, and it adds roughly 1,000 to 1,200 US dollars to the bill.

September 20, 2026

Joint Pain in the Younger Population

Joint pain in the younger population, young adults from their teens to about 40, is driven mainly by four things: overuse injuries from sport and physical activity, a sedentary screen-bound lifestyle with the weight gain that follows, autoimmune or inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, and nutritional gaps in vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and protein. Early diagnosis is crucial to prevent chronic damage to the joints.

May 3, 2026

Complex Total Hip Arthroplasty

Complex total hip arthroplasty (complex hip replacement) is hip replacement in a joint that trauma, disease or earlier surgery has distorted: a fractured or eroded acetabulum (the hip socket), a dead femoral head, a dysplastic hip or a failed implant. Unlike a routine replacement for simple osteoarthritis, which takes 40 to 45 minutes, it demands days of planning, specialised implants and two to two and a half hours of surgery.

August 6, 2026

Recent Trends in Surgical Oncology

The recent trends in surgical oncology share one objective: more cures with a better quality of life.

September 6, 2026

Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Surgery

Breast cancer diagnosis starts with imaging of both breasts before any needle is used: ultrasound under 40, mammography from 40. A core biopsy then confirms the cancer and its receptor status, staging follows, and only then is the first treatment, chemotherapy or surgery, chosen. Dr. Rajesh Kumar Jain, Principal Director - Surgical Oncology, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India, treats each step as a decision that shapes the next.

September 21, 2025

Correct Timing for Congenital Heart Surgery

The correct timing for congenital heart surgery is set by the natural history of each defect (how it behaves if left untreated), not by a child's age or weight. Among the common defects, only an atrial septal defect is best left until the age of three to four years. Almost every other condition needs surgery within the first year of life, and several need it at diagnosis.

August 6, 2026

Recent Advances in Spine Surgery

The most dramatic advance in spine surgery over the past decade, says

July 5, 2026

Making Spine Surgery 99% Safe

How safe is spine surgery today? In the hands of a well-equipped team, very safe:

August 6, 2026

Role of Neuro Intervention

The role of neuro intervention is to treat diseases of the brain's blood vessels from inside the vessels themselves. Working through catheters and wires introduced at the groin or wrist, a neurointerventionist can remove a clot that is causing a stroke, seal a bleeding aneurysm or block an abnormal tangle of vessels, reaching deep parts of the brain that a surgeon's scalpel or a neurologist's drugs cannot reach.

August 9, 2026

Minimally Invasive Surgery in Gynaecology

Minimally invasive surgery in gynaecology means operating through a few small incisions, by laparoscopy or with a robotic system such as da Vinci, instead of opening the abdomen.

August 2, 2026

Role of Robotics in Benign Gynaecology

Robotic surgery in benign gynaecology uses a robotic system to operate through small incisions on non-cancerous conditions of the uterus and ovaries, such as fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian cysts and abnormal uterine bleeding. Its role began in gynaecological cancer surgery. For

August 6, 2026

IVF, ICSI and Egg Donation

IVF, ICSI and egg donation are the three main laboratory routes to pregnancy when natural conception fails. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) joins eggs and sperm outside the body; intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) injects a single sperm into each egg; egg donation uses another woman's eggs when a patient's own cannot achieve a pregnancy. The right route depends above all on the woman's age and the specific cause of infertility.

July 21, 2024

Interventional Pain Management: Procedures, Cost and Safety

Interventional pain management treats chronic pain by identifying the structure that generates it and treating that target directly, with image-guided nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, sympathectomy or implanted devices. Dr. Ashu Kumar Jain, Chief – Pain Medicine & Palliative Care, Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, India, stresses that 80 to 85 per cent of chronic pain patients can be managed conservatively; procedures are for the rest.

June 8, 2025

Advances in Chronic Pain Treatment

Chronic pain is pain that has lasted more than three months and outlived the time the body needs to heal.

July 12, 2026

Plastic Surgery from Reconstruction to Aesthetics: A Guide

Plastic surgery is the specialty that moves and reshapes the body's own tissue to rebuild what injury, cancer or a birth defect has taken, and to refine appearance where function is intact. It has two branches: reconstructive surgery, which covers trauma, cancer and congenital defects, and aesthetic (cosmetic) surgery. A wound that has not healed in three weeks is a key signal that a plastic surgeon should see the patient.

July 27, 2025

Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

Hip and knee replacement surgery replaces a joint destroyed by end-stage osteoarthritis with an artificial implant.

August 7, 2026

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnosis and Management Guide

Rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed clinically, by finding swollen joints and reading rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide) antibodies in that context, and it is managed by treating early to a measured target. Dr. Sajal Ajmani, HOD – Rheumatology, Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi, India, presented an approach that rests on three disciplines: diagnose early, measure disease activity at every visit, and escalate therapy on a fixed timetable until remission is reached.

September 1, 2024

Sickle Cell Anaemia Bone Marrow Transplant

A bone marrow transplant is the only established cure for sickle cell anaemia, and India offers it at a much lower cost than the West. Dr. Vikas Dua, Principal Director & Head - Pediatric Hematology, Hemato Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, India, puts the chance of cure at 90 to 95% with a fully matched sibling donor and 85 to 90% with a half-matched parent.

August 6, 2026

Diagnosis and Detection of Cancer

Early detection of cancer rests on three habits that any primary physician can build into routine practice: recognising the seven warning signs, screening healthy people before symptoms appear, and confirming every suspicion with a biopsy before treatment begins. Cancer found at an early stage can be cured, which is why the first doctor a patient sees carries so much of the outcome.

May 19, 2024

Cancer Myths, Facts and Advances

The cancer myths and facts that matter most come down to four points. A healthy life lowers the risk of cancer but does not remove it. Only about 5 to 10 per cent of cancers are carried in the genes. Smoking is the most important modifiable cause. And cancer is not a death sentence: treated properly, outcomes are good, especially in stages one to three.

August 7, 2026

Diagnosing Common Cancers and Blood Disorders: Red Flags

Diagnosing common cancers and blood disorders early rests on four things: recognising the red flag, ordering the basic test that confirms suspicion, getting tissue before treatment, and staging before any decision. Dr. Niti Raizada, Principal Director Medical Oncology, Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, India, illustrated this sequence through eight patient cases, from breast cancer in a young woman to a leukaemia that kills within days if missed.

August 28, 2026

Minimally Invasive and Robotic Cardiac Surgery: A Guide

Minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery repairs or replaces heart valves, bypasses blocked coronary arteries and closes holes in the heart through incisions of 2 to 5 cm between the ribs, in the armpit or through small ports, instead of splitting the breastbone. The operation inside the heart is unchanged; only the route in differs, bringing less blood loss, less pain and faster recovery.

September 28, 2025

Benign vs Malignant Brain Tumours

Benign and malignant brain tumours differ in two ways that decide treatment: spread and removability. A benign brain tumour is a non-cancerous growth that never spreads elsewhere in the body and, in most cases, can be removed completely by surgery. A malignant brain tumour is a cancer: it can spread within the nervous system to the spine and usually cannot be removed completely.

June 9, 2024

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine, combined with rotation of the vertebrae, that appears around puberty in an otherwise healthy child and has no identifiable cause. It is the most common form of scoliosis. Most curves are small and need only observation; a minority progress far enough to need bracing or corrective spinal fusion surgery.

August 4, 2024

Recent Advances in Joint Replacement

The recent advances in joint replacement fall into five areas: longer-lasting implants, partial replacements for younger patients, robotic implantation for precision, better revision surgery, and pain and rehabilitation protocols that let patients move almost without restriction. Dr. Subhash Jangid, then Senior Director, Orthopaedics & Joint Reconstruction at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, India, set out each of these for international doctors in April 2025.

April 13, 2025

Uterine Fibroid Treatment Options

Choosing between uterine fibroid treatment options comes down to five facts: the fibroid's size, its location in the uterus, how many fibroids there are, the woman's age, and whether she wants a baby.

August 25, 2024

When to Refer Suspected Cancer

A doctor should refer a patient with suspected cancer when a symptom is persistent, progressive or peculiar, especially when it matches one of seven warning signs of cancer.

January 25, 2026

Diagnosis and Management of Brain Tumours

Brain tumour diagnosis and management follow a clear sequence: recognise the symptoms that localise the tumour, examine the whole patient, confirm the lesion on contrast MRI, then plan surgery that secures a tissue diagnosis and removes as much tumour as is safe. Dr. Rahul Gupta, Senior Director & HOD Neuro and Spine Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Noida, India, holds that surgery should not leave a patient who was well beforehand worse after it.

September 6, 2026

Epilepsy Diagnosis and Management

Epilepsy diagnosis and management follows a clear sequence: exclude seizure triggers, investigate with EEG and MRI, treat with antiepileptic drugs, and consider surgery only when medication fails. In Dr. Dinesh Rattnani's experience, 60 to 70% of patients become seizure-free on drugs. The remaining 20 to 30%, and possibly up to 40%, develop drug-resistant epilepsy, for whom surgery or brain stimulation can change the course of the disease.

September 4, 2026

When Is Joint Replacement Needed? A Complete Guide

Joint replacement is needed when arthritis of the hip or knee has reached stage three or four on X-ray and the patient's walking, stair climbing and sleep are steadily getting worse. Earlier stages call for activity modification and medicines, not surgery. In children and young adults the trigger is a joint destroyed by disease or injury, and in the very old the deciding factor is physiological fitness, not age.

May 12, 2024

Degenerative Joint Disease

Degenerative joint disease, better known as osteoarthritis, is the gradual loss of the articular cartilage that lines a joint, most often the knee, hip or shoulder. It is diagnosed with a handful of clinical tests and a plain X-ray, and it is managed in stages: risk-factor control, braces and medicines first, then joint-preserving surgery, and joint replacement once the whole joint has worn out.

September 6, 2026

Robotic Kidney Transplant

Robotic kidney transplant places a donor kidney through four keyhole ports and one small lower-abdominal incision, with the surgeon operating a robot rather than working by hand through a long open wound. For

April 12, 2026

Diagnosis and Management of Prostate Cancer

Management of prostate cancer follows the stage of the disease. Low-grade early cancer can be monitored or treated with surgery or radiation, and more aggressive localised disease goes to radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy. In the practice of

August 7, 2026

Robotic Radical Prostatectomy

Robotic radical prostatectomy is the surgical removal of the whole prostate, with the seminal vesicles and, where needed, the pelvic lymph nodes, performed through small incisions with a surgical robot. For

September 13, 2026

Advances in Urology, Uro-Oncology and Kidney Transplant

Modern urology is now a technology-led specialty. Lasers, miniature flexible endoscopes and surgical robots allow urologists to treat an enlarged prostate without an incision, clear kidney stones through natural passages, remove kidney tumours while saving the kidney, and transplant a kidney through an 8 to 9 cm wound. These advances in urology, uro-oncology and kidney transplant shorten hospital stays and widen the group of patients who can be treated safely.

November 23, 2025

Prostate Cancer Symptoms and Risk Factors

Prostate cancer symptoms and risk factors follow a clear pattern. Early, organ-confined disease is usually silent and is found by a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test; urinary symptoms, leg swelling and bone pain appear as the cancer spreads. Risk rises with age, particularly after 65, with family history, diet and genetics, and is highest in men of African descent.

September 6, 2026

Endometriosis Diagnosis and Management

Endometriosis is the growth of endometrial tissue, the lining that normally sits only inside the uterus, at sites outside it: the ovaries, tubes, pelvic lining, bowel, bladder and occasionally the navel, a surgical scar or the chest. Endometriosis diagnosis rests mainly on the history and examination, supported by transvaginal ultrasound, and management follows a step-up sequence of hormonal medicines and, where needed, minimally invasive surgery.

October 6, 2026

Diagnosis and Management of Rectum Cancer

In the diagnosis and management of rectum cancer, colonoscopy and biopsy confirm the cancer, pelvic MRI and chest and abdominal CT stage it, and the stage sets the treatment: surgery first for early tumours, chemotherapy and radiotherapy first for locally advanced low rectal tumours, and chemotherapy-led treatment for most stage 4 disease. In expert hands, most patients can now keep normal bowel passage rather than a permanent stoma.

September 5, 2026

Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Management: A Guide for GPs

Breast cancer diagnosis and management follow a sequence that a general practitioner can apply in any setting: recognise the presentation, confirm it with triple assessment (clinical, radiological and pathological), define the stage and the tumour's receptor biology, then match treatment to both.

November 17, 2024

Detection and Management of Heart Failure

Heart failure detection and management rests on three moves that any physician can make: confirm the diagnosis early with a natriuretic peptide test, an ECG and an echocardiogram; start all four classes of guideline-directed drugs together rather than one at a time; and refer promptly when a patient stays symptomatic, so that devices, assist pumps or transplant can be considered before it is too late.

May 24, 2026

Diagnosis and Management of Coronary Artery Disease: A Guide

The diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease rest on three things: picking up the disease early from often subtle symptoms, confirming it quickly with an ECG and a troponin test, and then matching each patient to the right treatment, whether lifestyle change and medicines, a stent or bypass surgery. Prevention and regular blood tests underpin all three.

November 30, 2025

Heart Transplant in India for Foreign Nationals: A Guide

A heart transplant in India for foreign nationals is possible, but on different terms from Indian citizens. A foreign patient is listed with the national organ network and offered a donor heart only after every Indian hospital has declined it. The median wait is about a year, the transplant costs a little under $50,000, and a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) can keep the patient alive and well while waiting.

August 27, 2026

Valvular Heart Disease in Emerging Countries: A Guide

Valvular heart disease in emerging countries is overwhelmingly rheumatic heart disease: valve damage left behind by streptococcal throat infections in childhood, sustained by poverty and poor access to care rather than by genetics. It strikes children, young adults and pregnant women, progresses silently for years, and too often reaches a specialist only once the patient is in advanced, barely reversible heart failure.

April 5, 2026

When to Refer to a Vascular Surgeon

When a general practitioner suspects a vascular problem, the time to refer to a vascular surgeon is once the image is in hand: a CT angiogram for arterial disease or an aneurysm, a Doppler study for varicose veins and an ultrasound for a suspected deep vein thrombosis. Biochemistry alone is not a referral. Acute arterial occlusion is the exception: it goes straight to the nearest emergency department.

May 10, 2026

Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Disease in Africa: A Guide

Heart failure and coronary artery disease in Africa strike younger patients, are diagnosed later and are recorded less completely than in most other regions. Heart failure often begins in the 30s and 40s, driven above all by hypertensive heart disease, followed by cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, HIV and tuberculosis. Both conditions are among the most common, and largely preventable, causes of death across the continent.

June 28, 2026

Pulmonary Hypertension: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Pulmonary hypertension is raised blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, now defined as a mean pulmonary artery pressure above 20 mmHg at rest, measured by right heart catheterisation. It strains the right ventricle until it fails. Managed well, it is no longer the death sentence it once was: care depends on finding the cause, confirming the diagnosis with a catheter and combining drugs, surgery and counselling across specialties.

August 16, 2026

Spectrum of Orthopaedic Disorders

Orthopaedic disorders span arthritis of the knee and hip, childhood hip conditions, avascular necrosis, ligament tears, fractures that fail to heal, bone infection and limb loss after blast injury. Evaluation of a painful joint draws on blood tests and inflammatory markers, a standing X-ray, and MRI when the X-ray cannot explain the pain. Treatment then escalates from physiotherapy and injections to joint-preserving surgery, replacement and staged reconstruction.

September 6, 2026

Prostate Cancer: Diagnosis and Latest Treatment Guidelines

Prostate cancer is diagnosed by combining a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, a digital rectal examination and an ultrasound-guided biopsy, then staged with MRI and a PSMA PET scan and sorted into low, intermediate or high risk. Current prostate cancer treatment guidelines match therapy to that risk group, the patient's fitness and his life expectancy, from watchful waiting to robotic surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy.

May 5, 2024

Pre-IVF Workups and Corrective Surgeries

A pre-IVF workup is the set of tests that identifies why a couple has not conceived, and which problems to correct before in vitro fertilisation (IVF) begins. It covers three essentials (the uterus, the fallopian tubes and ovulation, including ovarian reserve) plus a semen analysis and baseline blood tests. Corrective surgery for fibroids, polyps, adhesions, endometriosis, damaged tubes or a uterine septum then improves the IVF cycle's chances.

August 6, 2026

WHO Infertility Guidelines

The 2025 WHO infertility guidelines, covering the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility, treat infertility as a disease that needs integrated care, not a private misfortune. They ask clinicians to work up both partners, test ovulation, the tubes, the uterine cavity and the semen in a fixed sequence, offer the least expensive effective treatment first, and fast-track couples who have not conceived within six months to a year.

August 28, 2026

Advanced Treatments in Gynaec Oncology

Advanced treatment in gynaecologic oncology now rests on four pillars: cytoreductive surgery with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for advanced ovarian cancer, laparoscopic and robotic cancer surgery with sentinel lymph node mapping, molecular testing that guides targeted therapy and immunotherapy, and HPV vaccination that prevents cervical cancer.

Thoracic Surgery from Basics to Robotics

Thoracic surgery treats diseases of the lungs, the pleura, the mediastinum, the chest wall and the diaphragm, and today most of it can be done through small incisions by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or robotic surgery. Dr. Shaiwal Khandelwal, Director - Thoracic Surgery, Max Hospital, Gurugram, India, uses these approaches from infections such as tuberculous empyema through to lung cancer, mediastinal tumours and nerve reconstruction.

August 24, 2025

Advances in Radiation Oncology

The main advances in radiation oncology fall into two groups. Technology now shapes the dose to the tumour and spares the organs around it: intensity-modulated and image-guided radiotherapy, tomotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, proton therapy and MRI-guided treatment. Dose schedules have also changed, so courses that once ran to 25 sessions can now be delivered in 15, or in selected patients in five.

August 28, 2026

Sickle Cell Disease: Diagnosis, Complications and Management

Sickle cell disease is diagnosed with a peripheral blood smear and confirmed by haemoglobin analysis, ideally after a newborn heel-prick screen. Sickle cell disease complications and management are tightly linked, and care works in layers: preventive care and pain control, disease-modifying treatment with hydroxyurea and transfusion, and cure through stem cell transplant. Because the disease can damage almost every organ, effective management anticipates complications instead of only treating each crisis.

November 24, 2024

Liver Transplant

A liver transplant replaces a failing liver with a whole or partial liver from a deceased or living donor, and is the gold standard treatment for advanced liver disease.

August 11, 2024

Management of Primary Liver Cancers

Primary liver cancers start in the liver rather than spreading to it from elsewhere. The two main types are hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which arises from hepatocytes and accounts for about 80 to 85% of cases, and cholangiocarcinoma, which arises from bile duct cells. Management of primary liver cancers turns on three questions: which cancer it is, how well the surrounding liver works, and whether the whole tumour can be removed.

August 27, 2026

Difficult Nephrotic Syndrome in Children

Difficult nephrotic syndrome in children is the minority of childhood nephrotic syndrome that does not settle with a single course of steroids: children who relapse frequently, who become steroid dependent, or who do not respond to steroids at all. Most children respond well to steroids, but more than half of those followed for a year go on to frequent relapses or steroid dependence, and a small group stops responding.

November 16, 2025

Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity and metabolic syndrome become a medical problem, rather than a question of appearance, when excess visceral fat starts to drive diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal blood fats, sleep apnoea and joint disease. Dr. Rakesh Durkhure, Head - General, MI & Bariatric Surgery (Unit IV), Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, India, urges doctors to look for it behind the complaints patients actually bring: snoring, breathlessness, backache, painful knees, infertility and uncontrolled sugar.

September 6, 2026

Robotic and Laparoscopic Surgery

Robotic and laparoscopic surgery now allow many operations that once needed a large abdominal incision to be performed through small ports. Laparoscopy works with rigid instruments and a two-dimensional camera; the da Vinci robot adds a wristed instrument tip, a magnified three-dimensional view and a seated surgeon, advantages that count most in deep, narrow spaces. For planned surgery, the patient's main gain is an earlier recovery.

July 19, 2026

Ischaemic Heart Disease Management

Ischaemic heart disease management in the acute phase comes down to one early decision and one common backbone. Every patient with a suspected heart attack receives the same drug protocol: aspirin plus a second antiplatelet agent, a high-dose statin, a beta blocker where blood pressure and heart rate allow, and nitrates for pain. The ECG (electrocardiogram) then decides whether the patient also needs immediate reperfusion.

September 4, 2026

Joint Arthritis Diagnosis and Management

Joint arthritis is diagnosed in three steps: a clinical history, an examination that compares the painful joint with the healthy side, and a plain X-ray, which is the most informative first test. MRI is reserved for patients whose X-ray looks normal but whose symptoms persist. Management then climbs a ladder: weight loss, physiotherapy and walking aids, then medicines and joint injections, and finally joint replacement when everything else has failed.

September 6, 2026

Recent Advances in Infertility Management

Infertility is the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months of regular, unprotected intercourse, and it is a problem of the couple, not of the woman alone. Recent advances in infertility management run along the whole pathway: sharper tests of sperm function, individualised IVF stimulation, laboratory techniques such as PICSI and EmbryoGlue, pre-implantation genetic testing, egg freezing and early work on ovarian rejuvenation.

December 21, 2025

Sickle Cell Bone Marrow Transplant Process

The sickle cell bone marrow transplant process replaces a patient's sickle-producing marrow with healthy stem cells from a matched or half-matched donor. It runs in stages: HLA typing and donor selection, one to two days of pre-transplant evaluation, about seven days of conditioning chemotherapy, a stem cell infusion, 12 to 14 days for the new marrow to engraft, roughly 100 days of close follow-up and about a year on medication.

September 2, 2026

Childhood Cancer Survival Rates

Childhood cancer survival rates have risen so far that cancer is now curable in most children who are diagnosed accurately and treated on a modern protocol. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common childhood cancer, has moved from a disease that killed most children to one that eight or nine in ten survive in leading centres. The decisive factors are early suspicion, precise genetic diagnosis, risk-adapted treatment and strong supportive care.

August 27, 2026

Sickle Cell Disease From Screening to Cure

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder of haemoglobin in which red cells deform into rigid crescents, block small blood vessels and die early, causing anaemia, pain crises and progressive organ damage. Managing it well means screening early, preventing crises with supportive care and hydroxyurea, and referring the right patients in time for a cure: a bone marrow transplant today, and gene therapy as it matures.

November 9, 2025

The Spectrum of Head & Neck Oncology

Head and neck oncology is the diagnosis and treatment of cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nose and sinuses, salivary glands and thyroid. Its goal is cure with function intact: speech, swallowing and appearance preserved. Outcomes depend less on any single operation than on how early the cancer is recognised, how quickly the patient reaches a multidisciplinary team, and how well survivorship is managed afterwards.

October 16, 2026

Knee and Shoulder Arthroscopy

Knee and shoulder arthroscopy has moved from cutting out damaged tissue to repairing, reinforcing and regenerating it. The newest advances include all-inside ACL reconstruction with fibre tape bracing, meniscus repair and transplant, cartilage regeneration, patch-augmented rotator cuff repair and instability surgery chosen by bone loss. Most of these operations are day-care procedures, and the joint is seen better through the arthroscope than through an open incision.

August 30, 2026

Uterine Fibroid Symptoms and Diagnosis

Uterine fibroids are benign smooth muscle tumours of the uterine wall, and they affect 70 to 80% of women by the age of 50. Uterine fibroid symptoms depend on where the fibroids grow: heavy or irregular bleeding, pelvic pressure, pain during intercourse, infertility or miscarriage, while many cause no symptoms at all. Diagnosis rests on a pelvic examination confirmed by ultrasound, with MRI reserved for doubtful cases.

December 14, 2025

Cochlear Implants in Children

A cochlear implant is a surgically placed electronic device that turns sound into electrical signals and delivers them directly to the hearing nerve, bypassing a cochlea that no longer works. Cochlear implants in children with severe to profound hearing loss give the brain access to sound early enough to build spoken language, provided they are placed young and followed by two to three years of structured rehabilitation.

March 1, 2026

First Trimester Ultrasound (12-Week Scan)

A first trimester ultrasound, performed at around 12 weeks of pregnancy, does far more than measure the nuchal translucency. Performed properly, it screens the fetus for chromosomal problems, diagnoses many major structural abnormalities, estimates the mother's risk of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, measures the cervix for preterm labour risk and establishes chorionicity in twins.

June 21, 2026

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

Recurrent pregnancy loss is now defined as two or more pregnancy losses, and a cause is found in only about half of couples. The evaluation starts with one question, whether the losses occur in the first or the second trimester, followed by baseline tests for every couple and further tests only for selected couples. Even after three losses, the chance of a successful pregnancy is 65 to 70%.

June 7, 2026

Tuberculosis and HIV

Tuberculosis and HIV are called "double trouble" because each infection makes the other more likely, more severe and harder to treat. HIV destroys the CD4 cells, the white blood cells that keep tuberculosis in check, and tuberculosis is often the illness that first reveals HIV. Good care depends on timing the right test, confirming the diagnosis, starting antiretroviral therapy early and preventing the infections that follow immune decline.

September 6, 2026

Breast Cancer Management: A Medical Oncology Guide

The medical oncology management of breast cancer starts from the tumour's biology, not from the operating theatre. Every invasive breast cancer is classified by its receptors (oestrogen, progesterone and HER2) and by its stage, and that combination decides whether treatment begins with surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, anti-HER2 therapy or immunotherapy. Early-stage disease treated this way is curable in the large majority of cases.

March 2, 2025

Acute Coronary Syndrome

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the sudden phase of coronary artery disease: a cholesterol plaque inside a heart artery ruptures, platelets and fibrin build a clot on it, and blood flow to the heart muscle collapses. The result is chest pain at rest, and it spans three diagnoses: unstable angina, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

June 2, 2024

Cancer Detection to Recovery

Modern cancer care runs from detection to recovery along one disciplined pathway: recognise the warning signs early, confirm the diagnosis on tissue rather than on scans alone, stage the disease, and let a multidisciplinary team choose between surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and the newer targeted and immune therapies. Each step decides how well the next one can be done.

September 6, 2026

Oesophageal Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Oesophageal cancer is diagnosed by endoscopy and biopsy, staged with PET-CT or contrast CT and, in early disease, endoscopic ultrasound, and then treated according to three variables: the stage, the histology (squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma) and the patient's fitness. Very early tumours can be removed endoscopically. Locally advanced tumours need multimodality treatment that combines chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

September 6, 2026

CAR-T Cell Therapy

CAR-T cell therapy (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy) is a cancer treatment in which a patient's own T cells are collected, genetically engineered in a dedicated laboratory to recognise a marker on cancer cells, and returned to the body to attack the cancer. The products available in India target CD19, a marker on B cells, and treat relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

September 6, 2026

Overview of Gynaecological Cancers

Gynaecological cancers are the cancers of the female reproductive tract: the cervix, the endometrium and uterus, the ovaries, fallopian tubes and peritoneum, the vulva and vagina, and gestational trophoblastic disease after pregnancy. The main ones, cervical, endometrial, ovarian and vulvar cancer, each have a distinct cause, a distinct early warning sign and a distinct first test.

April 26, 2026

Robotic Surgery in Gynaecologic Oncology

Robotic surgery in gynaecologic oncology is cancer surgery of the uterus, cervix and ovaries performed through small incisions with a surgeon-controlled robotic system. For

August 27, 2026

The Science Behind Snoring

The science behind snoring starts with anatomy: snoring is the sound of air forcing through a narrowed upper airway during sleep, anywhere from the nostrils to the vocal cords. Occasional snoring after a tiring day is physiological. Snoring every night with unrefreshing sleep warns of fragmented sleep and, often, obstructive sleep apnoea (repeated narrowing or closure of the airway during sleep), which raises the risk of hypertension, diabetes and accidents.

May 17, 2026

Genomics Revolution in Cancer

Genomics in cancer means reading the genetic changes inside a tumour and in a person's inherited DNA, to decide what the cancer is, which medicine will work, who in the family is at risk and how disease can be prevented. For

January 19, 2025

Hepatobiliary Interventional Radiology

Hepatobiliary interventional radiology treats liver cancer, portal hypertension and liver transplant complications through a needle or a catheter, guided by ultrasound, CT, MRI and fluoroscopy.

September 27, 2026

Prostate Cancer Early Detection

Prostate cancer early detection depends on a deliberate sequence rather than a single test: a thorough physical examination including a digital rectal examination, a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test ordered for a clear reason, recognition of the men at higher risk, and a biopsy only when suspicion is high. The aim is to find aggressive cancers in time without putting men through investigation and treatment they do not need.

July 7, 2024

Liver Cirrhosis Diagnosis and Management

Liver cirrhosis is permanent scarring of the liver after years of injury, most often from hepatitis B or C, alcohol or fatty liver disease. Early cirrhosis causes no symptoms and is best caught with a fibroscan. The diagnosis and management of liver cirrhosis then turn on controlling the cause, monitoring every six months, and referring for a liver transplant once complications such as ascites, bleeding or confusion appear.

June 16, 2024

Basics of Living Donor Liver Transplant

A living donor liver transplant (LDLT) replaces a failing liver with part of a healthy liver from a living relative: usually the right lobe for an adult, a smaller left-sided segment for a child. Both the graft and the donor's remnant regrow. Liver transplantation is the only cure for end-stage liver disease and an established option in acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure, and the earlier the referral, the better the result.

July 20, 2025

Recent Advances in Liver Transplant

Recent advances in liver transplant have turned an operation whose first patient died on the table into one offering long-term survival, robotic donor surgery and grafts that cross blood groups. Dr. Dheeraj Manchanda, Associate Consultant - HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi, India, sets out when cirrhosis calls for a transplant, how a relative can donate safely, and where the field is heading.

October 12, 2026

Bone Marrow Transplant: A Cure for Sickle Cell Disease

Bone marrow transplant, also called a stem cell transplant, is the established curative treatment for sickle cell disease. The procedure replaces the patient's bone marrow with healthy stem cells from a donor, ideally a matched sibling, or a matched unrelated or half-matched family donor. The donor cells then produce normal red blood cells instead of sickle-shaped ones.

January 19, 2026

CAR-T Therapy: Re-training the Immune System

CAR-T therapy is an advanced cancer treatment that uses a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. Doctors collect T cells from the patient, modify them in a laboratory so they can recognise a target on cancer cells, and then return them to the body. Once infused, these re-engineered cells seek out and destroy cancer cells.

January 20, 2026

Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: Safer Surgery, Faster Recovery

Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy is a surgical technique used to treat localised prostate cancer. Instead of a large open incision, surgeons use robotic instruments that offer a clear, magnified view and steady control through small incisions in the abdomen.

January 21, 2026

Doctor Trust Is Infrastructure

Cross-border healthcare is no longer an exception; it is a necessity shaped by deep structural gaps in global health systems. While advanced therapies emerge in a few regions, millions of patients across Africa and other parts of the Global South continue to face delayed diagnoses, unavailable surgeries and fragmented specialist care. What is commonly labelled medical tourism has filled this gap, but in practice it often operates as an unregulated, transactional model that breaks continuity of care and leaves patients navigating complex decisions without clinical accountability.

January 22, 2026

Biomarker-Guided Cancer Therapy: Choosing the Right Treatment for the Right Patient

Cancer treatment is becoming more personalised as doctors learn more about the biology of each tumour. Instead of giving the same chemotherapy to every patient, oncologists use biomarkers, measurable signals found in tumour tissue or blood, to guide treatment decisions. These markers help identify which medicines are most likely to work for a specific patient and which treatments can be safely avoided.

January 23, 2026

Transcatheter Tricuspid Repair: Expanding Options for High-Risk Heart Patients

Severe tricuspid valve leakage is a common heart problem in older patients and can lead to breathlessness, leg swelling, tiredness and repeated hospital admissions. Many of these patients are not fit enough for open-heart surgery, which has led to less invasive, catheter-based treatments.

January 24, 2026

Robotic Orthopaedic Surgery: Precision that Supports Faster Recovery

Robotic technology is increasingly used in orthopaedic surgery to improve the accuracy of joint and spine procedures. These systems help surgeons plan operations in advance, guide precise bone cuts and place implants within planned limits more consistently than manual techniques.

January 25, 2026

Advancements in Infertility Treatment: Regenerative Options for Difficult Cases

Infertility treatment continues to evolve beyond hormone therapy, surgery and assisted reproduction such as IVF. For patients who do not respond to standard treatments, researchers are studying regenerative therapies that aim to repair reproductive tissues rather than only support conception.

January 26, 2026

Advanced Joint Replacement: Better Implants, Less Trauma, Faster Recovery

Joint replacement surgery has improved significantly in recent years, offering patients safer procedures and better long-term results. Modern techniques allow surgeons to replace damaged hips and knees through smaller incisions that spare muscle, reducing blood loss and pain after surgery.

January 27, 2026

Robotic and Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery: Precision in the Skull

Robotic and minimally invasive brain surgery are advanced techniques that allow surgeons to operate on the brain with greater accuracy and less disruption to healthy tissue. Instead of large openings in the skull, surgeons use small keyhole openings, endoscopes, image guidance and robotic tools to reach deep or delicate areas. These approaches are used for selected brain tumours, skull-base lesions, biopsies and procedures such as deep brain stimulation.

January 28, 2026

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: Less Trauma, Better Recovery

Minimally invasive spine surgery is a modern approach to treating spine conditions such as slipped discs, spinal narrowing and unstable vertebrae. Instead of large incisions and extensive muscle stripping, surgeons operate through small openings using specialised instruments and imaging. This allows them to treat the spine accurately while preserving the healthy tissues around it.

January 29, 2026

Robotic and Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: Precision with Faster Recovery

Robotic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery are modern approaches to heart surgery that avoid a full opening of the breastbone. Surgeons operate through small incisions between the ribs using specialised instruments, with or without robotic assistance. This gives a clear, magnified view and precise control for selected procedures such as mitral valve repair, closure of holes in the heart and some bypass operations.

January 30, 2026