Ethekwini Hospital leads pack with new procedure
Like a scene from Grey's Anatomy, gynaecologists from around KZN filled the conference room at the hospital to watch the live streaming of gynaecological laparoscopic surgeries during the two-day live surgery and lecture programme offered exclusively by eThekwini Hospital.
KWAZULU-NATAL’S gynaecologists will soon be making waves in gynaecologic surgical procedure circles.
That’s thanks to the Durban Obstetrical Gynaecological Society, in association with the International Society of Gynaecologic Endoscopy’s (ISGE), who held a workshop at eThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre recently.
Like a scene from Grey’s Anatomy, gynaecologists from around KZN filled the conference room at the hospital to watch the live streaming of gynaecological laparoscopic surgeries during the two-day live surgery and lecture programme offered exclusively by Ethekwini Hospital.
Laparoscopic surgery, or keyhole surgery as it is commonly known, is not a new thing, but certainly new within the gynaecology field.
“The introduction of a laparoscopic gynaecological surgery has many benefits. For instance, with a normal hysterectomy a patient would have a large scar, be in hospital for up to seven days and stay off work for another six weeks. With a laparoscopic procedure, the patient is out of hospital within 48 hours and recovery time is only three weeks,” said Professor Bhaskar Goolab, chairman of the ISGE training committee.
Prof Goolab said the workshop was aimed at equipping gynaecologists with the knowledge and skills to perform these procedures.
These laparoscopic procedures include hysterectomy, myomectomy (fibroids), ovarian cystectomy and laparoscopic management of endometriosis.
“This is the advancement of gynaecology’s direction for the future. Patients will expect their gynaecologists to offer advanced laparoscopic procedures because they will realise the benefits of the surgery,” Prof Goolab said.
Prof Goolab, who is also the chairman of the training committee, was joined by the president of the ISGE, Dr Prashant Mangeshikar of India, vice chairman of the society Prof Bruno van Herendael of Belgium, together with Italy’s Dr Ornella Sizzi who is the medical director and chairman of the conference committee as well as the editor of The Trocar, official online video journal of ISGE, Dr Alfonso Rosetti. These five doctors formed part of the faculty invited to show attending doctors how these procedures are performed.
