NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 27, 2003: Many people in Delhi consult astrologers to decide the day, date and time of a surgery in the family. Paediatric cardiologist Dr. Vikas Kohli says he “gets such requests all the time.” “The parents want the surgery to be over by, say, before 9 a.m. on October 29. They had consulted an astrologer, who poured over astrological permutations and gave them that particular date and time,” says Dr. Kohli. Chief of invasive and interventional cardiology, Dr. Ashok Seth, says families set time-limits for surgeries for they believe that the patient will recover fast. The dependence on planetary positions is not restricted to cardiac surgeries alone. General surgeon Dr.Vinay Sabharwal, too, gets the same kind of requests. Doctors are not ready to pass value judgements over such requests and try to accommodate them as best they can and only if the patient’s medical condition permits. “If the condition worsens and the operation needs to be done earlier, we overrule the request,” Dr. Seth says.
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