He was assisted by a well-qualified team led by Professor Saeed Akhter, who heads the department of surgery at Shifa. The complicated procedure lasted 10 hours.Briefing the media at a thinly-attended press briefing here on Tuesday, Dr. Matin said the future of surgery lies in laparoscopic and robotic surgery. As opposed to conventional open surgery, laparoscopic or keyhole surgery has numerous advantages for the patient, the health facility, as well as the country. These include less post-operative pain, reduced risk of infection, zero blood loss, better cosmetic results, reduced need for analgesia or pain killers, reduced hospital stay and faster return to functionality, which eventually translates into huge economic savings.Referring to the cost factor, Dr. Matin informed that it is not so much the fee of the surgeon, as the cost of the very sophisticated disposable equipment used in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy which makes it an expensive surgery. While the actual cost of the surgery in Pakistan is yet to be accurately ascertained, Dr. Saeed estimated the cost as ranging between Rs150,000 and 200,000.
“However, if India can embrace laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and manufacture its own equipment too, there is no reason why Pakistan cannot do it,” Dr. Matin asserted, hoping that the country’s policymakers would pay heed to the advancements so rapidly being adopted by our own next-door neighbour, leave alone the west. Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is a highly complex, demanding and difficult surgery. It is performed by making multiple tiny less than one centimeter incisions, unlike traditional open surgery which requires one large single incision. The aim of this procedure is to cure localized prostate cancer.
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