Friday, June 22, 2007

Real Life Dougie Howser


This was reported in today's Irish Examiner:

Boy, 15, carries out C-section
By Muneeza Naqvi
THE 15-year-old son of two doctors has performed a filmed Caesarean section birth under his parents’ watch in southern India in an apparent attempt to gain a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest surgeon.

Instead, the boy’s father could be stripped of his licenses and might face criminal charges, officials said yesterday.

Dr K Murugesan showed the recording of his son performing a Caesarean section to an Indian Medical Association chapter in the southern state of Tamil Nadu last month, said Dr Venkatesh Prasad, secretary of the association. The video showed Dr Murugesan anaesthetising the patient.

"We were shocked to see the recording," said Dr Prasad, adding that the association told Dr Murugesan his act was an ethical and legal violation.

Dr Murugesan owns and runs a maternity hospital in the city of Manaparai, Dr Prasad said. The family could not be immediately reached for comment.

Dr Murugesan, who could possibly be prevented from practicing and face criminal charges for allowing his son to perform the operation, expressed no regret and accused the Manaparai medical association of being "jealous" of his son’s achievements, Dr Prasad added. "He said this was not the first surgery performed by his son and that he had been training him for the last three years."

Dr Murugesan told the association he wanted to see his son’s name in the Guinness Book of World Records.

State health secretary VK Subburaj told reporters the government would investigate.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

How the U.S. sees the World

From: http://www.doheth.co.uk/funny/misc/US_World.jpg