Facebook as doctor's casebook!

LONDON: A British surgeon has saved his long-lost friend's life by diagnosing his burst appendix online, thanks to popular social networking site ' Facebook', a media report said.

Rahul Velineni, 30, logged on mid-shift and saw posts from his former schoolmate telling friends that his stomach was in agony. The medic did not have his phone number because they had lost touch, so he messaged him from Swansea Hospital: "Sounds bad, Call me asap. You may have appendicitis," 'The Sun' reported.

Peter Ball, 30, read the alert next day in Cheshire. His appendix was removed in an emergency op in Macclesfield before it could kill him.

"We hadn't seen each other for ages. I owe him a drink. The doctors said it was bad, and shouldn't have been left for much longer," Ball was quoted as saying. Rahul added: "It's a funny way to get back in touch, that's for sure.