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Stones collected during surgery are this doctor’s hobby

If you ask Dr Jitendra Sankpal, associate professor in the surgery department at GT Hospital, Dhobi Talao, to count the various milestones in his career, he’ll be able to do so quite literally

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If you ask Dr Jitendra Sankpal, associate professor in the surgery department at GT Hospital, Dhobi Talao, to count the various milestones in his career, he’ll be able to do so quite literally. That’s because he’s amassed a unique collection over the past fifteen years of medical practice, sourced directly from the bodies of patients he’s treated.

It’s admittedly not as gory as it first sounds. And although not many might consider it collectors’ items, for Dr Sankpal, his collection of stones — from the kidney, gall bladder, prostate, bile duct and pancreatic ducts of his patients — are his most prized possessions.

Dr Sankpal has been collecting the stones ever since he started his medical practice at VM Government Medical College in Solapur in 1996. He now possesses over 100 stones in various sizes, shapes and weight. The heaviest of the stones in the collection weighs 273gm and the smallest, 10gm. Four stones in his collection weigh over 100gm.

However, according to Sankpal, his somewhat bizarre hobby has come to carry considerable academic weight as well. “These stones are useful for teaching post-graduate students who opt for general surgery. It is not possible to see such large stones nowadays because of the increased awareness about such conditions and easy availability of medicines. Students read about large stones only in their textbooks. According to my knowledge, there have been only 30 recorded cases where the stones weighed more than 100gm,” he said.

The stones also serve as an effective shock tactic, convincing otherwise laidback patients to opt for surgery. “Usually, when patients realise they have kidney stones, they tend to ignore the condition if they find that the stone is small. They tell us they will get the stone removed later. I use my collection to show them that the condition can get complicated if the stone is not removed in time. The sight of the large stones is enough to convince them,” he grins.

News about Dr Sankpal’s odd collection has now spread within the medical fraternity and doctors from private hospitals often approach him for permission to show the stones to their students and patients.

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