Ganga hospital, rotary club to launch ‘hope after fi re’

COIMBATORE: City based Ganga Hospital and Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis will jointly launch a Community service project ‘Hope after Fire’ - Reconstructive Surgery for Burn Deformities at free of cost. Briefi ng about the community service. Project Chairman and Chairman for Division of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery of Ganga Hospital Dr S Raja Sabapathy told newsmen that the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that every fi ve minutes one person dies of burn injuries in India, three million people sustain burn injuries burned every year in India. More people die of burns than HIV / AIDS and Malaria. Showing various pictures of burn deformities, he said burn injuries cause contractures which disfi gure the face, and limit the function of the hands and feet. They lose their ability to be productive citizens. The Most of the injuries happen at home. While it affects people of all age groups, majority of them in our country are children and young adultsDetailing the economic and social Impact due to burn injury, he said when burns are deep they end up in bad scars. When scars involve the face and the hands, they could cause tremendous amount of psychological problems, in addition to functional disability. Children stop going to school, young people no longer go to work, and the earning capacity of many bread winners is affected. In India, burns leave the victims with disabilities that cost 5.5 billion dollars per year (Rs 24,750 crores), Dr Sabapathy said. Dr Raja Sabapathy said in spite of all the attention Deformities occur. Deformities of the face prevent people from going out in public. Deformities of the hand affect their capacity to work and they become dejected in life. He said now Hope is available for these patients. Correction of the disabilities was possible with reconstructive surgery by They greatly improve the function of the hand These surgeries need skill, hospitals with very good infrastructural facilities and adequate funding. For the lack of these three issues, many unfortunate victims continue to suffer. The project ‘Hope after Fire’ will make a difference in the lives of these people. Dr Raja Sabapathy said this project will be launched at Ganga Hospital on Saturday (March 10, 2012).