Kolkata: Perhaps for the first time by any hospital around the globe, IPGMER (SSKM) conducted 34 gallstone surgeries on Monday. As part of a special drive to clear the backlog, doctors at the general surgery unit of the state-run hospital aimed to perform 220 such surgeries between Monday and Friday.
As doctors tend to prioritise more complex surgeries, sources said gallstone surgeries were taking a back seat. Currently, the hospital has around 400 patients waiting to be operated on for gallstones, with the waiting period ranging from two to six months.
"Even though this initiative is not to create any record, 34 gallstone surgeries in a day will be a world record. The credit goes to IPGMER director Manimoy Banerjee for initiating this special drive," said general surgery professor Diptendra Sarkar.
The 34 surgeries on Monday were conducted between 9.30 am and 3 pm on six OT tables, each with five doctors and one nurse, under the supervision of the general surgery department head Abhimanyu Basu.
"Of the 34, eight were male patients while the rest were female. In fact, 80% of the patients who will undergo lap cholecystectomy during this drive are women," said Seraj Ahmed, assistant professor of general surgery, IPGMER.