Mumbai's top doctor collapses while practising for marathon, passes away at 60

MUMBAI: A well-known city doctor, Dr Rakesh Sinha, collapsed in Bandra around 9.30 am on Monday while practising for the forthcoming Mumbai Marathon. Dr Sinha, a gynaceologist who was the first to bring minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques to India, was 60 years old and is survived by his doctor wife and son.

"My dearest friend, Dr Rakesh Sinha, a well known endoscopic Gynaec surgeon, died suddenly a short while ago. He leaves us completely shattered," wrote his childhood friend Dr Arshad Ghulam Mohammed on a social networking site.

When contacted, Dr Mohammed said Dr Sinha collapsed during his morning run and was taken to the nearby Holy Family Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. "He was fitness conscious and had participated in several marathons. He was practicing for this year's marathon as well," said Dr Mohammed. Dr Sinha's website stated that he was four times international marathon-runner, having completed 42.195 km each time.

Dr Sinha was a Guinness World Record Holder for two records -- one, for having removed the largest fibroid weighing 3.4 kg laparoscopically and second for having taken out the heaviest uterus weighing 4.1 kg laparoscopically. His website said that he was one of the first surgeons in the world to have started three-dimensional training laparoscopy and has trained approximately 600 gynaecological endoscopic surgeons globally.