The MOGS Indo-Israeli Workshop & Conference on Fetal Diagnosis & Intervention

Shalom & Namaskaar! The MOGS Indo-Israeli Year is well on its way with the second clinical meeting creating waves in the Ob-Gyn community in India. We had a star-studded faculty from both India & Israel. Prof Israel Shapiro is the President of the Israel Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He is the Coordinator of the Scientific Meetings of the Society. He is also the Chairman of the Academic School of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He is attached to the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Bnai-Zion Medical Center, Haifa. He has vast experience in Industrial Counseling and is currently the Consultant of General Electric (GE Healthcare) in developing ultrasound equipment.In fact, he developed the first transvaginal probe prototype with Elscint in Israel eons ago!Prof Shlomo Lipitz was awarded his MD degree in 1984 from The Hebrew University, Jerusalem and thereafter completed a Clinical Fellowship at The Fetal Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University College Hospital, London. He is now the Director of The Fetal Medicine Unit at The Sheba Medical Center, Israel. His areas of interest are Amniocentesis, Chorion Villus and Fetal Blood Sampling, Intrauterine Fetal Blood Transfusions, Shunts, Multifetal Pregnancy Reductions, Laser Therapy in Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome and Bipolar Coagulation in Monochorionic Twins.Prof Reuven Achiron is the Director of the Ultrasound Unit at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer. He has been invited to the World Congress of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology thirteen times. He is a Member of the International Ultrasound Society and has been on the Editorial Board of the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He has published six monographs and over 130 original articles on Obstetric Ultrasound & Fetal Diagnosis.Dr Chander Lulla is one of the pioneers of ultrasound in India and is the most-sought after interventional sonologist in this part of the world. He is affiliated to the Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity General Hospital as well as to the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. The formidable four were all set to showcase their skills to an eager audience sitting in two different auditoriums; the PG students in the Main Lecture Theatre at KEM hospital & the practicing gynecologists at the ITC Grand Central which is a kilometer away.

The Indo-Israeli workshop on fetal diagnosis and intervention organized by the Mumbai Obstetric and Gynecological Society and Seth G.S. Medical College, KEM hospital (Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology) was held on 6th June 2009 in the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, KEM hospital. The workshop equipment was provided by Wipro GE Healthcare. Prof Reuven Achiron , Prof Shlomo Lipitz and Dr. C.P. Lulla demonstrated live 2-D and 3-D fetal ultrasound all through the day from 9am to 5pm with a short Lunch break! Live scanning of eleven cases was performed with detailed interaction with the audience. Normal first, second and third trimester ultrasounds, malformation scans, 3-D ultrasound and an interventional procedure of placental biopsy as a prenatal diagnostic technique in a case of thalassemia were demonstrated. Various congenital malformations including cranial, cardiac, pulmonary, renal, skeletal and gastrointestinal were demonstrated. The correct methodology for anomaly detection and the management protocols were discussed. The postgraduate students and the delegates at ITC Grand Central found the workshop very informative and useful for clinical practice.
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The Conference on Fetal Diagnosis and Intervention was held the next day -the 7th June 2009, Sunday at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. There were 145 registrations for this event. The opening session was on free communications. Dr Shailesh Kore was awarded the prize for the best paper. His subject was prediction of preeclampsia by placental laterality. This was followed by a session on the journey of a fetus from the womb to the pediatric operation theatre. It was a collaborative effort by Dr Nitin Chaubal and Dr Sanjay Oak.The Israeli Faculty were thoroughly impressed with this presentation & congratulated both the speakers (see video). Prior to the Key-note addresses, we played the National Anthems of both countries. This was a truly emotional moment for our invited guests. The international faculty presented the Keynote Addresses on Applications of current ultrasound in fetal medicine (Professor Reuven Achiron) and Diagnosis and treatment of complications of monochorionic twins (Professor Shlomo Lipitz).

The post lunch session was a visual treat with twelve videos from invited faculty.Prof. Shapiro's video was the run away winner of this Video film session (see video). This was followed by invited lectures by Dr C P Lulla, Dr Aniruddha Badade and Dr Sameer Dikshit.

The Dr M Y Raval Oration was delivered by Professor Israel Shapiro on the subject of “Three Dimensional Ultrasound: Gimmick or Breakthrough”. This 100 minute oration was founded on years of experience, data, images and personal insights. It was laced with the right dose of humor and received a standing ovation from the audience (see video).

The chairpersons ensured that the sessions were interactive and kept the program running on schedule. The venue was well-appointed and hospitable. Once again, on behalf of MOGS we would like to express our thanks to the superlative Banqueting team at the ITC Grand Central. I would also like to mention that the success of this meeting was shaped in a large way with the untiring efforts of the hands-on conveners Dr Sulbha Arora & Dr Parikshit Tank. The MOGS office staff ensured that the Registration Desk & other admin formalities purred on smoothly like a BMW engine! Thank you delegates - We had delegates from Arunachal, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Sri Lanka too! I am still receiving positive feedback on this meeting from doctors who were not present , but have heard about this meeting from registered delegates. This is really heartening & we look forward to the Late Dr Avabai Wadia Workshop & Conference on Contraception in September 2009. Before I pen off, I would like to express my gratitude to the supporters of MOGS who were present in the exhibition hall on both days. Thank you Danny for making our Indo-Israeli dream a reality. Lakhaim!

Gay penguins steal eggs from straight couples

The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft.

But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracizedPicture 2 the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season.

A keeper at Polar Land in Harbin, north east China explained that the gay couple had the natural urge to become fathers, despite their sexuality.

“One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there,” a keeper told the Austrian Times newspaper.

“It’s not discrimination. We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time,” he added.

There are numerous examples of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, but gay penguins have captured the public’s attention more than any other species.

A German zoo provoked outrage from gay lobby groups after attempting to mate a group of gay male penguins with Swedish female birds who were flown in especially to seduce them. But the project was abandoned after the males refused to be “turned”, showing no interest in their would-be mates.

In 2002 a couple of penguins at a New York zoo who had been together for eight years were “outed” when keepers noticed that they were both males.