• India

Two visits to the All India Institute in New Delhi have been organised under the Kind Cuts for Kids Foundation banner. However, through the enthusiastic interaction between Australian Paediatric Surgeons and the Department of Paediatric Surgery in Delhi, other visits from Australia have been orchestrated in recent years. The achievement of this interchange was to further develop links between Australia and India, and to enhance Paediatric Urology skills of the group of registrants at the symposium mentioned below, the staff in the Department of Surgery in Delhi, and the visiting surgeon.

The symposium on Neuropathic bladder and Hypospadias was organised from our joint desire to transfer skills related to the use of urothelium in surgery for the bladder enlargement, which stems from Australian research looking at the use of ureter and autoaugmentation enterocystoplasty. Hypospadias was considered an appropriate additional topic to facilitate the further education of a large number of Paediatric Surgeons and Urologists in India, and surrounding countries.

A program was compiled to include a contribution from Professor Warren Snodgrass from Dallas, Texas, and Professor Hari Asopa from Agra, India. The three-day workshop consisted on lectures, case discussions and live operative demonstrations that were telecast to the audience of 120 Indian surgeons. A book of the proceedings, which included three papers, was also published. Following the workshop, a further day was spent interacting with members of the Department of Paediatric Surgery, which included the conduct of surgery and presentation of a lecture.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences is a huge complex consisting of 2200 beds, with 500 senior medical staff and 500 residents. The Institute was founded in 1959 since when it has continued to grow and foster international connections and standards of care. The Paediatric Surgical Department works within the resource limitations expected for an Indian Hospital but is benefited greatly by well-trained, enthusiastic and talented leaders and resident staff.

The principal differences from Australian Paediatric Surgical training institutions are the ability to conduct low cost symposia, the availability of a vast array of complex pathology for training of specialists, and the involvement of the Indian Surgeons in a wide range of surgical pathology.

The relative lack of sub-specialization facilitated a productive interchange, particularly focused on the use of urothelium in the management of patients requiring bladder augmentation, and the surgical management of hypospadias. It is expected that other visits to centres in India will follow.