Dr. Rachna Garg

Ultra sound is commonly known as sonography. It is a process of reproducing ultrasound images of soft tissues of a particular body part and other organs on the computer screen with the help of the echoes of the sound waves produced by the transducer, a high-frequency generating instrument.
Ultra sound is commonly used during the different stages of pregnancy to denote the foetal health, date of delivery, birth defects etc. However, in recent times, the ultra sound has also been associated with the diagnosis of other body parts such as the eyes, heart, gall bladder, liver, ovary, uterus, kidney, uterus, testicles, and ovaries. Ultra sound has also been useful in conducting biopsies for suspecting cancer patients, although not all of the cancers are detected by this imaging process. 3D & 4D ultrasound imaging are useful for looking at a particular body portion with much more precision and in slow motion respectively.

The advantages of ultra sound are:
1. The process of ultrasound imaging is a painless and a fast one. It does not require any insertion of needles or similar objects to denote the problems of the concerned body part.
2. The process is more convenient as compared to other similar imaging processes like MRI, mammogram and x-rays as they can capture images of the soft tissues, blood flow & cysts more clearly than the other processes.
3. The process is free of any harmful effects as there are no chances of exposure to radiation as compared to similar processes such as CT scans or X-rays. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

Breast Cancer - What exactly is it?
‘Breast cancer’ is a term that is used to refer to a malignant tumour, which has developed from cells present in the breast. Generally, all tumours can be divided into two categories i.e. benign and malignant and it is the malignant tumour that is responsible for causing cancer. Breast cancer generally originates in the cells the  milk producing glands of the breast's or the passage, which carries milk from the glands to the lobules. Additionally, breast cancer can also originate in the stromal tissues, including the fibrous and fatty connective breast tissues.

Breast Cancer: Treatment Options
Treatment for breast cancer depends upon two things: the exact type of the cancer and how advanced the cancer is. Treatment options for breast cancer can thus be broadly divided into two categories as Local treatments and Systemic treatments.

Local Treatments
Treatments that target the tumour without having any effect on the rest of the body are called local treatments. The following types of local treatment options are available for treating breast cancer:

1. Surgery: Surgical breast cancer treatment involves removal of the malignant cancerous tumour in an operation. Smaller tumours can be removed using a surgical process referred to as ‘lumpectomy’, wherein the tumour along with a small amount of healthy tissue surrounding the tumour is removed. For larger tumours, removal of the entire breast becomes mandatory, in a surgical process known as ‘mastectomy’. Women who undergo mastectomy can choose to undergo reconstructive plastic surgery for reconstruction of the removed breast(s).
2. Radiation Therapy: This basically involves using radiation to kill cancer cells present in the body. Radiation therapy is a long-drawn process that usually involves a set number of treatments administered over a long period of time. Radiation therapy is also generally the follow-up procedure after a lumpectomy, or more rarely, a mastectomy.

Systemic Treatments
Treatments involving drugs that are administered via either the mouth or direct injection into the bloodstream are called systemic treatments. These include:

1. Chemotherapy: This includes using drugs to destroy the cancer cells present in the body by stopping the cancer cells from growing and dividing. Chemotherapy can be administered using either an IV (intravenous) tube or via pills that can be swallowed.
2. Hormone Therapy: This treatment option is used for treating tumours which have tested positive for progesterone or oestrogen receptors. Blocking hormones that fuel the tumour’s growth is the basis of this therapy.
3. Targeted Therapy: This targets specific proteins and genes which contribute to growth and survival of the cancer cells. Targeted therapy is an extremely focused treatment, and is very effective in blocking the growth and division of cancer cells, as well as minimizing damage to surrounding healthy cells.

Brain surgery involves several medical procedures, which incorporate fixing issues with the brain, including changes in the tissues of the brain, cerebrospinal fluid and brain blood flow. Brain surgery is quite a complicated method of surgery and the type of surgery to be conducted depends on the underlying conditions.

Reasons for Brain Surgery:
Brain surgery is performed for the correction of physical brain abnormalities. These abnormalities could occur because of diseases, birth defects and injuries. A brain surgery is required when the following conditions arise in the brain:

1. Abnormal blood vessels
2. Aneurysm
3. Bleeding
4. Blood clots in the brain
5. When the protective tissue or dura is damaged
6. Epilepsy
7. Due to nerve damage
8. Parkinson's disease
9. Any kind of pressure after an injury
10. Abscesses
11. Skull fractures
12. In case of stroke and tumors

A surgery may not be required for all the above mentioned conditions, but in case of many, a brain surgery is very important as the conditions may worsen health problems.

Types of brain surgeries:

1. Craniotomy: During this open brain surgery, an incision is made in the scalp, and a hole is created in the skull, near the area, which is being treated. After this process is complete, the hole or bone flap is secured in its place using plates or wires.
2. Biopsy: This form of brain surgery helps in the removal of a small amount of brain tissues or tumors. After removal, the tissues or tumors are examined under a microscope. The creation of a small incision and a hole in the skull is indicated as a part of this process.
3. Minimally invasive endonasal endoscopic surgery: This form of brain surgery enables the removal or lesions and tumors via the nose and sinuses. Private parts of the brain can be accessed without creating an incision. An endoscope is utilized in the process which is used to examine tumors all across the brain.
4. Minimally Invasive neuroendoscopy: This process is similar to the minimally invasive endonasal endoscopic surgery. This method also involves the use of an endoscope for removal of brain tumors. Small, dime sized holes may be made in the skull to access some brain parts.

Risks:
Brain surgeries may be associated with several risks. They may be:

1. Allergic reactions to anesthesia
2. Bleeding
3. Blood clot formations
4. Swelling of the brain
5. A state of coma
6. Impairment in speech, coordination and vision.
7. Problems in memory
8. Strokes and seizures
9. Infections in the brain

A brain surgery is a serious and very complex surgery. There are different kinds of brain surgeries, which are conducted depending on the condition and severity of the disease. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Neurosurgeon.

Herniated disks or bone spurs in the vertebrae of the neck may become the reason behind severe neck pain. They sometimes take too much space and compress the nerves branching out from the spinal cord.

Symptoms, causes and treatment for Breast Cancer Patients

Hello friends. My name is Dr. Gayatri Juneja. I’m a practicing gynecologist in Model Town for the last 20 years. I’m a visiting consultant in Apollo Cradle Hospital Moti Nagar, and Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, and Sunder Lal Hospital Ashok Nagar. It’s a great pleasure for me to talk to you about certain problems which I think is becoming very important for all of us to know. I am going to talk about Breast Cancer.

Unfortunately, even in India, cancer breast is becoming very common. And it is not that it is a cancer which we cannot pick up at time. The only thing we need is to be aware of it. Only if we know what is happening with our body, is only then we can do what is normal, only then we can see what is not normal, right? It is one of the breast cancer is one of the easiest cancers to pick up. How? My body is my own. I should know what’s happening to me. So minimum a lady can do is do a self examination. Teach your daughters how to do a self examination for the breast. If you find any lump, any time, if you feel there is some pain, which was not there, if you see the nipple is not in the normal position, it is retracted inside, if you see there is skin changes on your breast, if you see any size difference. See minor size difference will be there. That is a natural thing. But if you see there is drastic change, and if you are not comfortable with something, do not neglect it. It’s not at all a normal thing. Go, see a gynaecologist.

It is a confidential thing between you and your doctor. Let her examine you. Let her guide you. You give her a proper history, if you have taken any contraceptive pills, even I-pill is very dangerous. I’ll come to it later how. The thing is…your doctor has examined you, then she will guide you what has to be done. There are various ways of diagnosing cancer of breast. First step is, you do a self examination. First step is over. You find the lump, you go to a doctor. Your doctor will ask for a sonography, that is ultrasound of the breast. And another part of it is an x-ray of the breast. Sometimes in younger age group the breast is very dense, and you cannot diagnose anything on mammogram.

You still are suspecting something, then your doctor might ask for an MRI. MRI is very effective in diagnosing, but we do not suggest it as first line treatment, first line of diagnosis. Once it is confirmed that yes, there is a lump, then what we do is, we ask for a biopsy. Now biopsy can be in 2 forms. It can be taken through the needle, which we call FNAC – Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology, and other is open biopsy, where we remove the whole lump, and send it for testing. If the test comes negative, good, fine, everything is fine. If it comes positive, then further treatment depends upon the type. Then they will do a special CT scan for you, where the will diagnose if any lymph nodes are involved.

Depending on preliminary staging, your doctor will ask for a surgery. Now the surgery will…it is better that the whole breast gets removed. Or what has to be done will be diagnosed, because it is not a single person specialty, it is going to be a multi-specialty treatment then. Now let’s come down to who are the people who are at higher risk. Why should I consider that I am at higher risk? What…who are those people? First, specially after menopause, obesity. If your lifestyle is not at all healthy, your food habits you eat lot of non-veg and processed food, like pizzas and burgers and frozen food, yes you are at risk. Then comes genetics.

If you have a family history of cancer in your nani, dadi, your bua, maasi, cousin, ya sister ya brother, or even cancer of ovaries, you are at high risk. But that doesn’t mean who all have had the history of cancer will also develop this. You are at higher risk, but it is better only to be careful. Then comes very tall ladies it has been seen they are also prone for diabetes. Obesity, and people who have had hormonal replacement therapy with…and once you’re diagnosed don’t get scared. It is a curable cancer, and life expectancy with variable modalities these days is quite good.The quality of life is also good.

So my suggestion would be, to conclude, that please be aware of what is happening with you, and take good care of yourself. If you are healthy, only then you can look after your family. Thank you so much.

The thought of going under the knife to treat your spine problem may give rise to a range of emotions; make you ponder over a number of things such as the recovery period, procedure and techniques involved and so on. Nonetheless, before opting for the surgery, there are certain points that you should go over and these are:

• Be well aware of the cause of your pain - Identifying the cause that is behind your pain is vital in order to decide whether the surgery is going to prove beneficial in the long run or not. If the cause is not identified as the right one, the surgery may prove futile and you may not get the pain relief that you're looking for.
• Gather detailed information about your spine surgeon - Before visiting the spine surgeon, you should collect detailed information about the specialist so as to be able to come up with appropriate questions concerning the surgery. From questions concerning about the surgeon's success and complication rates, numbers of surgeries performed to qualifications of the surgeon, these and much more should be part of your evaluation process.
• Prepare yourself before a consultation - It's good to prepare yourself before a medical consultation. Whether it's researching about the surgery and your condition or being well aware of your family's medical history, or details about the pain that you experience, or your expectations from the surgery, every aspect should be covered so that you derive the maximum benefit from your meeting.
• Carry out your own research - Carrying out your own research on the alternatives before opting for the surgery can put you on a better footing. It's imperative to compare the opinion put forward by the surgeon from genuine sources so that you're better able to understand the merits and demerits of the treatment. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Orthopedist.

Breast reduction or breast reduction surgery is a form of cosmetic surgery where the size of disproportionately large breasts is reduced.

Extra large breasts may cause neck pain, back pain and several other physical symptoms. Many women undergo a breast reduction to make life easier. This surgery provides effective results.

The procedure of breast reduction surgery-

Breast reduction surgeries can be conducted in an outpatient facility. You may have to stay for one night at a hospital as well. While performing this surgery, a patient is given general anaesthesia, which will make the patient asleep during the process.

Breast reduction surgery requires about two to five hours to be completed successfully. During the process, the surgeon will create a cut around the nipple and then on the breast. The cut is made in the shape of a keyhole. Extra skin, tissue and fat will be removed from the breast through the keyhole-shaped incision. Drainage tubes are also utilized for removal of excess skin and fat. After the removal is complete, and enough skin has been removed, the breasts are stitched. They are then wrapped in a special gauze. Sometimes, a surgical bra is required to be worn by the patient during the surgery.

Recovery from breast reduction surgery-

After a breast reduction surgery is performed, the patient must take a minimal one week off from any kind of work or school. Some women require two weeks or more to recover. However, this varies from patient to patient, but not more than three weeks are required for recovery.

You will be having a follow-up appointments with your surgeon, where the bandages and stitches on the breasts are removed.

As a part of the recovery process, a woman must abstain from all kinds of physical activities for one month following the surgery. After the surgery, it is likely for a patient to feel tired and experience breast pain. However, this is normal and you can have oral pain killers prescribed by your surgeon to get relief and ease. Heavy lifting should be strictly restricted.

Breast reduction surgery is an efficient cosmetic surgery, which enables women to reduce their breast size and volume. The results of such a surgery are quite satisfactory. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Cosmetic/Plastic Surgeon.

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diagnoses in women. When cancerous cells develop in a woman's breast, irregular lumps, changes in the shape or size of the breast and discharge of blood from the nipples may be experienced. There are lots of preventive measures that you can take to avoid breast cancer. It is important to live a healthy life with as less exposure to toxins as possible. Here are some tips and strategies that can lower your risk of breast cancer

Preventive measures:

• Plant based diet - Studies have shown that a high plant based diet, full of vegetables and fruits, is packed with antioxidants, minerals, and nutrients that lower the risk of breast cancer. Eat light, and avoid refined sugar and processed meat. Try to construct a healthy Mediterranean diet plan rich in olive oil and nuts.
• Maintain an appropriate weight - Do not gain extra weight as obesity and excessive weight gain are related to breast cancer. Cut down on fat and exercise regularly to lead an active life.
• Breastfeeding - If you are a new mom, breastfeed your baby as it has numerous health benefits for both you and your child, including lowering the chances of breast cancer in the mother.
• Sleep - It is important to get 8 hours of sleep every night to live a healthy life. Many studies have shown that a short duration of sleep and exposure to light at night that disrupts the circadian rhythm increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Avoid tobacco and alcohol - Do not smoke as it increases the chances of cancer in other organs and also leads to toxin inclusion in the body. Also, be sure to drink in moderation as excess alcohol consumption is cancer causing offender.
• Artificial hormones - Women during menopause often resort to hormone replacement therapy, and the extended use of this therapy can heighten the risk of breast cancer. Therefore, it is recommended to look for other options to smoothen your transition to the menopausal phase.