Dealing With Pain

A first-of-its-kind hernia conference held for surgeons from across the country sought to create awareness about the common disorder

Amid a clutch of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes,cardiovascular disorders and various types of cancers,one disorder that most number of Indians continue to be susceptible to is hernia. A focus study screened 400 persons complaining of stomach and abdominal aches in Pune,Mumbai,Satara,Nagpur,Gadchiroli,Kolhapur and Sangli earlier this month. Of these,350 persons were found to need early surgery for hernia.

Dr Shashank Shah,director of Laparo Obeso Centre and founder president of the Pune-based Association of Minimal Invasive Surgery,who conducted the study,said,Some of those surveyed had already undergone surgeries for various abdominal ailments and all participants had some form of abdominal trouble or the other. While we found that 350 of the 400 persons screened were candidates fit for hernia surgery,the other 50 needed immediate medication.

An interesting statistic in this connection is that about 30 per cent of all patients who have undergone some form of surgery for a stomach ailment are susceptible to hernia. Some doctors opine that invasive surgical procedures that deal with cysts and tumours in the abdominal region may have a bearing on this.

Stressing the need to create awareness among doctors,medical practitioners and public,Dr Shah said that they organised the countrys first hernia conference Just Hernias in Pune. The day-long conference saw participation of 250 surgeons from across the country,and most significantly,four members of the same family were operated live using laparoscopy during the conference. The procedures were interspersed with discussions to help doctors understand methodologies, he added.

The highlights of the conference were live transmission of cases from Laparo-Obese Centre OT Complex,video demonstration,live surgeries (hiatus hernia,TEP repair) case capsules and lectures,CME Credit Points (Applied).

Dr Shah said laparoscopy has a tremendous role to play in hernia surgery. There is no need for an invasive procedure because these procedures force the patient to be in bed for a long recovery period. We are increasingly using laparoscopy in hernia operations because patients recover very fast and can go back to their normal lives in no time, said Dr Shah,who entered the Limca Book of World Records for performing 45 hernia surgeries in 10 straight hours.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories