The 33rd annual conference of the Kerala chapter of the Association of Surgeons of India (KASICON 2010) concluded here on Sunday.
Dr. Arvind Kumar, Professor of Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, delivered the Dr. N. Mohandas Memorial Oration. He highlighted the advantages of thoracoscopy, the keyhole surgery for chest diseases, compared to the conventional open surgery.
A session on obesity and its effective treatment by laparoscopic surgery was held. R. Padmakumar, bariatric surgeon and organising secretary of the conference, chaired the session. Dr. Mohammed Ismail from Perinthalmanna, Dr. O.V. Sudhir from Amrita Hospital and Dr. Rajiv Jayadevan from Sunrise Hospital made presentations.
A live demonstration of bariatric surgery that helps obese people to retain normal health was held.
The surgery involves cutting down the large size of the stomach in obese people to normal size and restoring the hormonal imbalance of the gut so that the excess fat stored in the body is also utilised for energy, said Dr. Padmakumar.
A study conducted by a team from the Kozhikode Medical College showed that excess intake of beef is a risk factor which could lead to colonic (large intestine) cancer. The presentation gave details of the preliminary observations made by them.
Those who take this red meat and spices are more at risk than even smokers in getting cancer, observed the team.
At the general body meeting held during the conference, Dr. Santhosh John Abraham from Kochi and Dr. P.G. Mohandas from Kozhikode were elected chairman and secretary of the association.
Around 300 delegates attended the conference. A number of post-graduate students also attended the programme, said organising chairman Dr. B. Kanakambaran.
