Hysterectomies Done On Women Aged Between 20-40 For Ailments As Routine As Abdominal Pain
Roli Srivastava | TNN
Kanvaram (Medak): Menopause at 25 may sound like the latest in disturbing urban health trends. But Lambada women aged between 20 and 40 in this village in Medak have been pushed to menopause much before time allegedly by ‘doctors’ who prescribe hysterectomies for ailments as routine as abdominal pain.
About 125 families live in this village in Kowdipally mandal and hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus) cases seem to surface from every second home. While the uterus removal may or may not be accompanied with the removal of ovaries, the damage is grave in both cases. More so if the patient is under 40, say gynaecologists. Hysterectomies are performed only if the affliction is serious, such as cancer. The victims name clinics in Kowdipally, Gajwel and Narsapur where they have undergone these procedures. At times a doctor from outside is called in for the operation while their own registered medical practitioner (RMP) only assists. But no complaint has been filed as they are not even aware that they have been wronged. Apart from losing a vital organ, these women have lost their land and lifesavings as the procedure costs anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000, a princely sum for the daily wagers.
Nainawat Bhooli, 25, underwent the procedure two months ago as the doctor said she had a cyst in her left ovary. The mother of two says, “My stomach was hurting. I visited the doctor who said I had boils and needed to undergo this surgery if I wanted to live.” The pain hasn’t subsided and she is now unable to work.
Patti Lali, 24, too underwent hysterectomy two months ago complaining of “stomach pain” and white discharge. “Now I am perpetually feeling ill and weak. The doctor has prescribed medicines that cost Rs 500 a month,” she says, adding that the family income has dropped because she can no longer work. “I can’t lift weight anymore,” she says.
Why these women don’t visit the primary health care centre of Kowdipally became obvious when on June 8 TOI visited it and found the doors of the ‘30-bed, 24 hour’ clinic locked. “They never attend to us properly even when they are open,” says Muchalla Rukamma, 40, who underwent hysterectomy three years ago, and continues to pay off her debts.
City doctors who hold rural clinics in Medak say 50 per cent of the women have undergone hysterectomies. A survey conducted by the Centre for Action Research and People’s Development (CARPED) revealed that 728 women in Kowdipally mandal alone have undergone hysterectomy, more than half of them under 40.
Dr C Muralidhar, duty doctor with Red Cross’s medical mobile unit for this mandal says that hysterectomies are routine even in surrounding areas of Kowdipally, a fact corroborated by other doctors.
“I conduct a rural clinic in Gajwal and I was taken aback by the number of women who have undergone hysterectomy. My routine question now is ‘Do you have a uterus?’,” says Dr D Pushpalata, member of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Society of India. “If their ovaries are removed along with the uterus, they are deprived of the female hormone and develop backache, cardiovascular problems and osteoporosis,” she says, whose Laxmi Rural Clinic in Gajwal mandal caters to women of 10 villages.
Curiously, about 15 of the 50 women TOI met have not just undergone hysterectomies but a subsequent appendicitis for their abdominal pains that did not subside even after the hysterectomy.
WRONGED : Lambada women with RMP prescriptions for hysterectomy
THE TIMES OF INDIA
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Leave a Comment
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
