State hosp carries out 186 gallstone ops in 5-day drive
Times of India | 15 February 2025
Kolkata: Doctors at the state-run IPGMER created a record by conducting 186 gallstone surgeries in five days during a special drive from Monday. On the last day of the drive, 47 patients underwent micro-surgery.
Patients usually have to wait for three to six months for gallstone operation at IPGMER, Bengal govt's busiest teaching hospital that has registered the highest OPD patient count in India multiple times. "This drive was to serve patients from far-flung areas. If patients kept waiting for the surgery, it could have caused complications. We are happy we could send all home after micro-surgery," said surgery professor Diptendra Sarkar.
On other days, the general surgery department conducts a daily average of six gallstone surgeries. During the drive, the daily average was around 37 surgeries.
"We tend to prioritise more complex surgeries, which leads to delays in benign cases, like gallstones. We could conduct this massive number in five days because of the special drive," said professor Abhimanyu Basu, head, general surgery department.
"The youngest patient was a 13-year-old boy and the oldest an 81-year-old woman. Some sponsors provided us with machines for the drive," said Seraj Ahmed, assistant professor of surgery.
IPGMER director Manimoy Banerjee held several meetings to come up with this special drive to clear backlog.
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