Govt plans to expand advanced laparoscopic surgery to district level

Despite the advent of expensive robotic surgery, laparoscopic and minimally invasive procedures done without opening the abdomen are highly popular in urological treatment.

The government has undertaken a plan to deliver these advanced, affordable services to people’s doorsteps across the country.

Prof Dr PC Biswas, head of the Department of Urology at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said.

He said that in the past, people could not clearly identify urological problems and often sought care from general surgery or medicine departments.

Now, awareness has increased significantly. Men and women alike come directly to urologists when they experience pain on either side of the abdomen or waist, lower abdominal discomfort, or any urinary complications, he noted.

Prof Biswas added that during investigations for other illnesses, if problems related to the kidneys, urinary bladder, urethra, prostate gland, or male reproductive organs are detected, physicians from other specialities now routinely refer patients to urologists. As a result, a clear understanding of urology services has developed in the country, he said.

Describing modern urological treatment methods, he explained that most urological treatments are surgery-based, although some conditions, such as infections, can be treated with medications like antibiotics. For stones or tumours, there is no longer a need for traditional open surgery involving large incisions or kidney removal, he said.

With advanced endoscopic or natural orifice techniques, instruments can be introduced through the urinary tract to reach the kidney for treatment. Techniques to remove stones by creating small punctures from outside the body are also now common, he said.

He mentioned advanced procedures such as URS, ICPL, laser therapy, PCNL and RIRS, adding that kidney or bladder tumours and cancers can now be treated very precisely through laparoscopic surgery without opening the abdomen.