A total of 90 hernia surgeries were completed over the weekend at three public hospitals.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) report, Dr Navindranauth Rambaran, Head of the General Surgery Department at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), said 64 surgeries were completed at the GPHC, 20 at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital and six at the Linden Hospital Complex under an initiative dubbed “Operation Hernia.”
Dr Rambaran explained that the two-day project involved a medical staff of eight general surgeons, several consultants and registrars, nurses and an anaesthesia team. It was noted that the exercise was held for the first time last June and this year’s results have been as equally as satisfying.
Dr Rambaran further explained that while hernia operations are conducted throughout the year, the demand for other larger and critical surgical procedures often see these operations being relegated to a lower priority. As a result, the initiative is intended to concentrate the resources on these cases. “We know that these hernias impair the quality of life of these patients, so we do try to get them done and this is one such push to accomplishing this mission,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
The New England Journal of Medicine defines a hernia as the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. It says hernias come in several types and most commonly they involve the abdomen, and specifically the groin. According to Dr Rambaran, the usual symptom is that of discomfort or pain, especially when participating in strenuous activity.
