‘Gallstone disease on rise among Kashmiris’

Preffered Laparoscopic surgery still a luxury for poor

Srinagar, July 20: Gallbladder stone disease has assumed alarming proportions in the Valley with more than twenty cases reported daily in SMHS hospital alone.
This was revealed by leading surgeon, Dr Muneer Khan while speaking to this newspaper.
While giving details about the gallbladder stone patients, Dr Khan said, “Age group is no bar for the disease. Bad food habits and too much of oil intake is the main reason for the rapid increase of the disease in Kashmir.”  “The disease usually runs in families and doesn’t depend on any symptom. The female patients suffering from the disease experience acute pain. The patients cannot digest fatty food as their gallbladder is affected,” he added. Laparoscopic surgery has revolutionized the field of general surgery, thoracic surgery and gynecology as in today’s world a patient doesn’t have enough time to stay in hospital for weeks for the treatment of gallbladder stone disease. “After 3 hours of surgery a patient is pain free as the surgery is stitch free and can return home same evening. In laparoscopic surgery there is faster recovery, less chance of bleeding, decreased hospitalization and is usually is done free of cost at government hospitals,” says Dr Khan.
On the other hand, in a traditional surgery, a patient needs to get admitted in the hospital two days before the surgery and during this period certain tests are performed and the patient is put on medication.  Even after the surgery a patient has stay in the hospital for at least one week with 10-12 stitches at the abdomen.
However, according to sources in SMHS, one Laparoscopic machine is possessed by the surgical department of the SMHS hospital for the last 4-5 years in order to treat patients coming to the hospital, but only “high profile” people or who have good contacts with the hospital authorities are operated with the machine while the poor have to go for traditional caesarian surgery.
Many people here believe that the concerned authorities are averse to offer the services of laparoscopic machine in the hospital while charging hefty amount from the patients for the service at their private clinics. Ali Muhammad who was recently admitted in ward no 18 of SMHS hospital told this newspaper that for the last two months he was trying for laparoscopic surgery, but every time the officers in charge make one or the other excuse. “Later they told me to wait for at least one year for my turn to come so I finally decided to go for traditional surgery when my condition became critical,” he added. Khan told this newspaper “the Government Medical College (GMC) is running short of the laparoscopic machines making patients to suffer adding that they have requested principal GMC to release the funds in order to purchase more laparoscopic machines for treatment.”