PATNA: Twelve MBBS toppers and one PG topper of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) were awarded gold medals at the convocation held on the institute's premises on Saturday. Altogether 78 MBBS, 20 postgraduates, three superspecialty courses students and 20 paramedics were awarded degrees by the state health minister Tej Pratap Yadav Ankita Choudhary was awarded for being the overall topper of 2011 MBBS batch. Ritambara Gautam bagged seven medals while Nimisha got two. Among the other toppers were Pushkar Kumar, Sivali Sinha, Suprabha Suchi, Vaibhav O P Pandey, Kushboo Rani, Garima, Sadhana Kumari and Madhurima.PG passout Dr Jay Prakash was awarded Shri Rameshwar Paswan-Dr K H Raghvendra gold medal in MD (anaesthesiology).The toppers of paramedical courses include Pooja Gupta, Soni Kumari, Neeti Shikha, Anupam Ashish, Bandana Jyoti, Aparna Rashmi, Akansha Kriti, Sanila Shree, Bhujeet Kumar and Swati Kumari.Addressing the convocation, the minister congratulated the institute for its achievements last year, especially kidney transplants. Yadav said the institute would face no funds crunch.IGIMS director Dr N R Biswas presented the annual report of the institute. Among the major achievements he highlighted were 18 kidney transplants and 125 eye transplants last year. The bed strength in ICU increased from 9 to 20. The 20-bed high dependency unit (HDU) also came into existence last year. "Two dedicated OTs for organ transplants are ready and the equipment is being installed," he said.Enunciating priorities this year, Dr Biswas said the institute is ready to start liver transplant. He requested Delhi-based Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences' director Dr S K Sarin to assist the institute. Dr Sarin, who was special guest on the occasion, said his team would give all possible assistance if the state government provides infrastructure in the IGIMS for liver transplant.Dr Biswas also said he has applied to the Medical Council of India for starting PG courses in almost all clinical departments. "We would start the courses as soon as the MCI team visits our institute and gives its nod," he said, adding, superspecialty courses in cardiology, nephrology and neurology would also be started soon.

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