The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Competitive course to relieve a complicated surgery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Competitive course to relieve a complicated surgery

— Photo: R. Ashok

Ajay K. Kriplani.

Post-operative stay at hospitals, unattractive scars and the cost involved have desisted many of the ailing citizens from undergoing surgeries. A good news for all those. Surgeries are now anything but traumatic. Laparoscopic surgery, once a luxury, has pushed the knives and forceps aside to introduce telescopes and monitors while operating on the patients.

The ‘Minimal Invasive Surgery,’ as the name has it, makes way into the affected part through small incisions and picture images of the organs are magnified on the video screen. The recent medical breakthroughs and newly-introduced technologies in laparoscopy are essential piece of information for the medicos to improvise on their surgeries. Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo Surgeons (IAGES) makes the access of information possible for the surgeons through its Fellowship of IAGES (FIAGES).

The fellowship course teaches, trains and tests the surgeons on the advancements of laparoscopy.

In an interview to S. Aishwarya, the President of IAGES, Ajay K. Kriplani, who was in town to preside over the 3rd fellowship course on laparoscopic surgery of IAGES, talks of how the course was crafted and quality of healthcare in the country.

The course, we have been offering for the third time, is quite competitive. We set high standards even for registering for the fellowship. Reasonable experience and a sound knowledge in this area are vital to clear the examination,” he says.

His words make more sense if one looks at the pass percentage of the previous courses. The first fellowship course recorded close to 75 per cent and second had slightly higher number. “Those who could not clear appeared during the second course and passed. Surgeons are particular in earning the fellowship but we make sure there is no compromise in quality.”

A course book is given to candidates a couple of months before the course, which helps them get prepared before the three-day workshop-cum-examination. The syllabus, compiled by the fellowship board, is revised systematically to include key topics.

“From the next course, we will include the candidates in framing the syllabi. We will give them feedback forms, asking for popular topics that we have missed. That would make the syllabus all the more interesting,” says Dr. Kriplani, who is also the co-chairman of the IAGES fellowship board.

Selecting jury for interviews and tests has been a challenge for the members of FIAGES. “Some of our participants were even heads of departments of medical colleges. So the onus lies on us to pick out the assessing heads who are more experienced than the candidates.” Apart from fellowship courses, IAGES also plans to push forward the need to include Minimal Access Surgery in medical colleges’ syllabi. “The absence of such a course in mainstream medical education made us frame a syllabus and equip the doctors with the skill. The quality of medical education will be increased with these additions,” he suggests.

Doctors picking up with ease

Doctors, meanwhile, are picking up the skill with ease. Indian healthcare system, Dr. Kriplani observes, grows in tune with US and Europe. “Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic surgery, for instance, made a big impact in the country. We are not very far behind the developed countries. What make us stand apart are the lesser cost and a good number of dedicated surgeons. In India, we not just teach our surgeons ‘how to use’ but tell them ‘what to use and where to use’. That avoids needless procedures and cut down the cost of surgery to great extent.”

India is one among the bidders for the World Congress of Laparoscopy, which is slated to be held in 2012. The Congress, if held in India, would serve as a great boost for the surgeons to match their standards with international counterparts, he says.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu