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The Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare department has faced significant criticism in the past couple of days after state Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav allowed Ayurvedic doctors to perform surgeries.
A press release from the Andhra health department on Tuesday, December 23, said Ayurvedic doctors who have completed PG courses in surgical studies and have proper training, could perform surgeries independently.
“The decision is a step forward in the direction of integrating Indian traditional medicine with modern treatment methods,” the press note said. Ayurvedic students can now perform 58 types of surgeries which include 39 Shalya Tantra (general surgery) procedures and 19 Shalakya Tantra (disease of eye, ear, nose, throat, head or dentistry) procedures.
The Health Department’s announcement is in line with the Indian Medicine Central Council (PG Ayurveda Education) Amendment Regulations of 2020.
Prominent procedures under Shalya Tantra include bowel resection (cutting out a damaged or diseased part of the intestine and joining the healthy ends or creating a stoma), cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder, usually because of gallstones or infection) and pyloromyotomy (cutting a tight muscle at the exit of the stomach (usually in babies) so food can pass into the intestine normally).