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Three years out of practice, Mizo MLA’s hands did not tremble during surgery
Thirty-eight months had passed since Dr K Beichhua hung up his surgical gown to step into a politician’s shoes, but the doctor-turned-MLA’s hand didn’t tremble when he picked the scalpel again to perform an emergency operation at the Saiha district hospital on Wednesday.
Thirty-eight months had passed since Dr K Beichhua hung up his surgical gown to step into a politician’s shoes, but the doctor-turned-MLA’s hand didn’t tremble when he picked the scalpel again to perform an emergency operation at the Saiha district hospital on Wednesday.
Despite the days spent outside the operating room, the doctor-turned-politician – representing the Saiha assembly seat in Mizoram – wasn’t unsure. Providing him confidence was “the desire to help somebody in need”, and nearly two decades of surgical experience.
The patient – a woman in severe pain due to a perforation in her stomach – had turned up at the Saiha district hospital at a time when the resident surgeon was away in Aizawl. With no other option in sight, Dr Beichhua stepped up to help. “The last surgery I performed was in December 2013, after I got elected,” said the 52-year-old legislator from the Mizo National Front. “But my hands weren’t shaking when I conducted the operation on Wednesday.”
Dr Beichhua said the patient – 35-year-old Lalhruaidluangi – was “recovering well” from the surgery. “I met her on Thursday. She should be released soon,” he added.
Dr Beichhua, who obtained his MBBS degree from Imphal’s Regional Medical College in 1991, worked as a general practitioner at government hospitals across the state before entering politics to “help the poor and needy”.
“His first posting was in Saiha. As there were no specialist surgeons at the hospital then, Dr Beichhua performed many operations and saved many lives,” said district immunisation officer Dr C Hnichho.
Saiha is located 326 km south of the state capital. The civil hospital has seven doctors, but only one surgeon. Dr Beichhua conducted the emergency operation because the in-house surgeon had gone to attend a training programme at Aizawl.
“Lalhruaidluangi hails from a very poor family. It would have been difficult for her to travel to Aizawl or wait for the surgeon to return. She was lucky to have Dr Beichhua around,” said Dr Hnichho.
Dr Beichhua said he still keeps in touch with patients in his constituency, and would be happy to perform more surgeries if need be. “I still perform operations when circumstances demand them. All of them have been successful, by God’s grace,” he added.
His wife, Dr. Zochhuanawmi, said the MLA still conducts health camps in his constituency. “Even now, if patients come to my husband, he treats them free of cost. He also visits poor families in his constituency, and provides them with free medicines,” she said.
Dr. Zochhuanawmi, who is posted in Aizawl as a nodal officer with the National Health Mission, is also a graduate of Imphal’s Regional Medical College. They have four children, and one of them – their daughter – is slated to appear for the medical entrance examinations later this year.
