The AIDS patient and his wife at Patna Medical College and Hospital on Sunday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Undergoing surgeries is a kind of an ordeal for most HIV positive people. Their waiting period often varies from a month to over a year, depending on the mercy of surgeons.

A 35-year-old AIDS patient had to wait for a month-and-a-half for a simple hernia operation. After a long-long wait, he went under the knife at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Saturday — just two days before the World AIDS Day.

The HIV positive person said he was admitted to the hospital around one-and-a-half months ago with the complaint of severe pain in stomach and vomiting. He was advised to get his ultrasound, X-ray and blood tests done.

Even before the test reports were handed over to the patient, the doctor concerned conveyed to him that he needed to undergo a surgery. But after a report confirmed that he was HIV positive, the 35-year-old-man was denied surgery for one-and-a-half months.

“Doctors never used to come near me. It seemed as if I was not visible to them. My family members urged the doctor concerned to conduct my surgery as soon as possible because my condition was deteriorating but each time the surgeon cited some reason or the other for his inability to conduct the operation. Members of Bihar Network for People Living with AIDS (a network working for HIV positive and AIDS community) met the PMCH superintendent and the doctor concerned, urging them to conduct my surgery. Only after this exercise, my operation was done by the doctor on Saturday,” said the HIV positive person undergoing treatment in the GH ward of Rajendra Surgical Block of PMCH.

“I don’t want any other HIV person people to go through this agony. I felt dejected over here and I don’t want the same to happen with anybody else. I urge the HIV positive people to be careful while going to any of the state-run hospitals for treatment,” he said.

His wife, standing beside his bed, said: “Even after his surgery, not much has changed. The nurses avoid my husband. Even if they have to give an injection to him, they maintain a good distance while administering it.”

The doctor who conducted the surgery of the HIV positive person’s surgery claimed that he should not to be held responsible for the delay. “See, according to the hospital’s rules, we conduct surgeries on AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C patients only on Saturdays because we have to leave the operation theatre empty for 48 hours after their surgeries for fumigation. As far as this case is concerned, on the first Saturday, we could not operate upon him because of some reason and the next two Saturdays I was on leave. So the operation got delayed,” said the doctor on the condition of anonymity.

This 35-year-old person was luckier than 44-year-old Sushil Kumar Gupta (name changed). The HIV positive person has been waiting for a surgery for a year.

“There is obstruction in my intestine, for which I was advised surgery by a doctor at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH). He referred my case to PMCH, which in turn sent me to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS). But the doctors at IGIMS refused to conduct my surgery and asked me to get the surgery done at PMCH itself. I don’t know where to go now,” said Gupta.

Noted physician and AIDS specialist Dr Diwakar Tejaswi said the doctors should not be afraid of conducting surgeries on HIV positive people. “The viral load of the HIV positive people becomes less after they start taking medicines. So, for doctors, the chances of contracting infection during a surgery are remote. Doctors can take their own precautions while performing the surgeries on HIV positive people by wearing masks and gloves among other things. Denying operation cannot be a solution,” said Tejaswi.