Thursday 11 April 2013

India: For surgical lessons, a cadaver laboratory of unclaimed bodies at AIIMS Trauma Centre


Bodies recovered by police and then unclaimed will go to the operation theatre so that budding surgeons can hone their skills in neurosurgery, orthopaedics and laparoscopy.

A body bank or cadaver laboratory, first of its kind in the country, is coming up at the AIIMS Trauma Centre within two months. It will serve initially as a training site for doctors in advanced surgical procedures. The project is being funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Health Research.

"We will coordinate with Delhi police to source the bodies," said Dr Sumit Sinha, principal investigator, who will be in charge of the lab. "As per law, a body unclaimed for 72 hours is regarded as unclaimed. We get accident cases from all around Delhi-NCR, and many of the bodies are unclaimed." The hospital authorities will also cremate the bodies.

Doctors say such labs have become common abroad because they allow surgeons to simulate the environment of an OT. "We have visual simulation techniques and some authorised centres where surgeons can operate on animal tissues, but ethical issues are involved in sacrificing animals," said Dr M C Misra, chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre. "We also have virtual simulation laboratories, but these are not the same as learning to operate on the human body. This is a huge leap since we are preparing our doctors better."

Thursday 11 April 2013

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/for-surgical-lessons-a-bank-of-unclaimed-bodies-at-aiims/1100659/

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