KARACHI: Local doctors advised not to follow West blindly
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 12: There are several medical procedures that were once banned in the West but which are now performed regularly there.
These procedures used to be performed routinely in Pakistan but were discontinued following the disclosure that they were not in use in Western hospitals.
Similarly, not long ago doctors in the United States and other Western countries actively used to advocate the feeding of powdered milk to new borns, as the powder was supposed to contain supplements beneficial to them. Today the Western doctors advocate exclusive breast feeding, which has been popular among Pakistani women all along.
These observations were made by Prof Tipu Sultan of the Civil Hospital Karachi on Sunday while talking to Dawn after an interactive session on anaesthesia at the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH). It was not his aim, said the professor, to chide the Western doctors but he wanted to underline the skill and expertise of the local doctors and anaesthesiologists.
He also raised this point in the middle of a presentation, made by Dr Gauhar Afshan of the Aga Khan University Hospital, which was on the 'peripheral nerve block technique' of anaesthesia. Dr Afshan was of the view that the 'regional nerve block technique' should be used more widely in the country as it was gaining popularity in the West.
Prof Tipu Sultan said the technique was once very popular among local anaesthesiologists but was banned in the UK and the US as it was deemed too risky. However, in recent years the technique had become popular in the West after which it was being advocated in Pakistan too. "But the credit for the technique is being claimed by the Western doctors."
Dr Afshan countered by saying that the Pakistani anaesthesiologists and surgeons who used to perform the technique did not document their cases, thereby enabling the Western experts to lay claim to it.
Meanwhile, during the other sessions of the Continued Medical Education programme, organized by the Liaquat National Hospital and Pakistan Society of Anaesthesiologists, the speakers emphasized the importance of the anaesthesiologists' presence during every surgical operation. A patient's life could be lost if the anaesthesiologist was either absent or inattentive.
The experts identified difficult airways as one of the biggest challenges facing the anaesthesiologists as airway-related crises contributed enormously to morbidity and mortality. They underlined the importance of proper pre-operative assessment and formulation of strategies which could make the difference between life and death.
Dr Saeeda Haider of the CHK said difficult airways might present to anaesthesiologist in the form of congenital or acquired pathologies. She said various strategies, if adhered to with fore-thought and preparation, could help reduce morbidity and mortality as most problems were avoidable.
Dr Khalilullah Shibli of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation said obesity might pose serious medical, anaesthetic and technical problems during surgery. "However, obesity should not stop obese people from receiving psychological, social, cultural, medical and supportive therapies," he said.
Dr M. Sirajuddin of the LNH stressed the importance of prevention and treatment of renal dysfunction as it might lead to serious complications, resulting in high mortality. "It is therefore crucial to either prevent its occurrence or recognize its presence and treat it as soon as efficiently possible," he added.
Dr Akhtar Waheed Khan of the LNH conducted an interactive session, which helped the participants exchange views on current and old practices. He discussed day-to-day problems faced by the anaesthesiologist. Dr Nighat Abbas of the LNH presented the vote of thanks. She also announced the dates of the meetings to be organized in future.
