The three-days regional surgeons' conclave - 35th annual conference of Association of Surgeons of India (ASI), UP Chapter, (UPASICON 2009) began on 6th November 2009. UPASICON 2009 is being organized by Department of Surgery (General), CSMMU in collaboration with Society of Endoscopic, Laparoscopy Surgeons of India (SELSI), UP, under the leadership of ASI-UP President-elect and UPASICON 2009 Chairman Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Secretary Dr HS Pahwa, and Joint-Secretary Dr Suresh Kumar.
"The Live Operative Workshop on Single Port Total Hysterectomy; Single Port Cholecystectomy; and Laparoscopic Hernioplasty, held on the first day of the conference, exposed over 500 delegates to the latest advancements made in the field of Minimal Access Surgery. It was not only the surgeons’ delight to be a part of the revolutionary changes sweeping the field of conventional surgery, but also the attention bestowed on the common patients by the uncommon doctors" informed Prof (Dr) Rama Kant.
The conference began on a very practical and professional note, with renowned surgeons showcasing their skills and expertise in performing ‘big operations with minute or no incisions'. The star performer was none other than Dr Prashant Rao, aptly called the “Father Of Single Port Surgery”. He performed Single Port Cholecystectomy (no perforation) on a female patient.
Dr Shailesh Puntambekar of Pune, did Single Port Hysterectomy. Laparoscopic Hernioplasty was done by Dr M.C.Misra of AIIMS, Delhi. Dr S.D.Maurya from Agra, showed his expertise in Non Descent Vaginal Hysterectomy.
A very recent technique for the treatment of Piles was performed by Prof (Dr) Rama Kant, Head of the Surgery Department of CSMMU. It is called Doppler Guided, Haemorroidal Artery Ligation (DGHAL) and Recto Anal Repair (RAR). This requires hospital stay of a few hours only, and the patient can go back to work the very next day.
“The main thrust of the workshop is to bring the state-of-art surgical techniques to the aid of the common people. With more and more doctors honing their skills in this direction, and with the people becoming more aware of the overall benefits of Minimal Access Surgery, these surgical procedures are likely to replace conventional open surgeries in a big way, and become available to all strata of society, irrespective of their social status” said Dr HS Pahwa.
Even though the direct cost of such surgical interventions, may be slightly higher than conventional surgery, but the overall gains are far too many. Dr Pahwa informed that there is less tissue trauma, chances of post operative infections are minimised, recovery is faster, and duration of hospital stay is reduced. All this adds up to be more patient friendly and more economical in the long run.
As 60-70% of the patients coming to hospitals like CSMMU are poor, this workshop should go a long way in making the latest technologies affordable. Dr Rama Kant was very optimistic about the outcome of the conference and rightly believed in Thinking Big in order to Achieve Big.
Shobha Shukla
(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS), has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)
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