IGMC begins laparoscopic procedures to treat malignancy
The Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Shimla, has started using laparoscopic surgeries for complex malignant conditions as well. In the recent past, the Department of Surgery has done laparoscopic surgeries for the treatment of rectal cancer, the cancer in the food pipe and for the removal of the stomach or its parts.
“We have been using laparoscopic procedures for over 30 years now, but it was used for simpler and benign conditions until now. It’s the first time in the state that laparoscopic surgeries have been used for treating malignant conditions,” said Dr UK Chandel, head of the Department of Surgery.
According to Dr Chandel, the laparoscopic procedures were started at the IGMC even before the PGI, way back in 1993. Initially, the procedure was limited to removing gallbladder and gradually more complex procedures were added. Over the passage of time, the laparoscopic procedure was used to treat hernia of the groin and stomach, removal of kidney, removing cyst from liver, removal of spleen and intestine, etc.
It, however, took the hospital a long time to extend the use of laparoscopic surgeries from simple procedures to complex and advanced procedures. The doctors attribute this slow and steady transition to a large number of gall bladder cases in the initial years, which left them with little time to treat other conditions through laparoscopy, lack of equipment and expertise. “Now, we have the required expertise and we are at par with any other institutions in doing laparoscopic procedures,” said Dr Chandel.
Meanwhile, IGMC principal Dr Sita Thakur said the stress was on minimally invasive surgeries rather than open surgeries. “As compared to open surgeries, patient comfort is much greater and recovery time is much less in laparoscopic surgeries. The rate of complications is also much less in laparoscopic procedures,” said Dr Thakur while congratulating her colleagues for extending its use to the treatment of complex malignant conditions.
