Patients in the southern region are welcoming laparoscopic surgeries which are now being offered by the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), as part of its strategic plan to continuously improve the delivery of quality and advanced health care to patients.
A team of doctors perform a bilateral inguinal hernia surgery in April 2019 at the Mandeville Regional Hospital. Laparoscopic surgery or minimally invasive surgery is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions, rather than the larger incisions needed in open surgery.
With the advances in surgical principles and techniques, laparoscopic surgery is considered the standard of care and is being offered at the Mandeville Regional and Percy Junor Hospitals (PJH) in Manchester and the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon; following the acquisition of four state-of-the-art high definition laparoscopic towers.
In 2017, the three hospitals completed 61 surgeries, while in 2018, 201 surgeries were performed and 65 have been done so far in 2019.
Senior Registrar from the Department of General Surgery at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, Dr. Ashok Kotagiri explained that the type of surgeries performed using this type of cutting edge technology includes: laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic appendectomy, diaphragmatic repair, hernia repair and diagnostic laparoscopy.
He added that other surgeries done regularly include: bilateral tubal ligation, hysterectomy, ovarian cystectomy, diagnostic laparoscopy and peritoneal stripping, nasal polypectomies and sinus surgeries.
As probably one of the biggest advancements in modern-day surgery, Dr. Kotagiri noted that: “Our patients have been very receptive and thankful for getting minimally invasive surgeries. Some people even ask us before
we tell them; it is laparoscopic surgery I am going to get right? It is difficult to imagine health care without minimally invasive surgery going forward” ”Dr. Kotagiri said.
For Regional Director of the SRHA, Michael Bent, laparoscopic surgery has proven advantages over open surgery, including less risk of bleeding, less risk of wound infections, less postoperative pain and less need for pain killers.
He added that this surgery results in quicker healing and recovery of patients which translates into shorter hospital admissions and quicker return to work and overall reduced cost of care.
Mr. Bent also pointed out that the acquisition of the laparoscopic towers was funded with fees collected from individual health insurance which is a means of assisting public health care facilities to achieve their development goals.
