Tier 1 extension and maternity

Dear Friends if someone could help with this please as couldnt find any good answer for this and have to this situation due to very poor advice from my solicitor few weeks ago.
My wife is on a tier 1 general visa since september 18 2008 which is due for renewal on this 18th sept 2011.

she was on maternity since february 1st 2010 to september 15th 2010.she worked from september 15th to december 15th but couldnt work since then until now due to surgery on both her hands.
my question is
1-the 15 month window for the salary will start from june 18th 2010 and since she was on maternity leave at that time since feb2010 till september 15th -can the period of november 2009 to january 2010 be also counted in towards points for her earnings?
2-will she be able to switch to my tier 1 dependent visa in uk itself if need be? as i am already on tier 1 general migrant visa until march 2012 or will she have to leave the country and reapply for entry clearance.
3-can genuine medical reasons with proof be accepted as exceptional circumstance for any leniency for the tier 1 extension?

Kindly help thanks

1. Since UKBA assesses on basis of calendar months (e.g. - 15 Sep 2010 to 14 Sep 2011), if your wife has not yet made an application, IMHO, she may not be able to take advantage of the concession allowed on account of maternity leave since the guidance clearly states that this is applicable for a period of 12 (calendar) months prior to the application and that 12 month period will end on 14-Sep-11 (tomorrow).

Tier 1 (General) policy guidance wrote:86. The provision for maternity or adoption-related absence is designed to allow an applicant to claim points for previous earnings under Tier 1 (General) if he/she has been unable to earn during the 12 months before the application because of a period of maternity or adoption-related absence from the workplace.

2. No. She will need to apply for EC from outside the UK.
3. There seems to be no provision in the rules / policy for such reasons.