Maruthamuthu of Karur was affected by a mysterious illness, and began to faint and lose consciousness frequently in the past few days. Alarmed, his family rushed him to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital a week ago. After running several tests, it was found that he was suffering from pancreatic malignancy. The doctors decided to perform the rare surgery of resection of insulinomo (removal of the mass). A special medical equipment, called the ‘waterjet,’ was procured on rent from a private firm for the surgery. Special procedures were also performed to reduce blood loss.

Explaining the surgery, Dr. Suresh Venkatachalam, head of the cancer wing, said that the surgery, which would have cost around Rs.8 lakhs in private hospitals, was done free of cost in the government hospital. Since such rare and highly advanced life-saving surgeries are performed absolutely free of cost at government hospitals, the poor need not go to private hospitals for good treatment.