Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) has set up the country's first-ever latest 'Spinal Clinic' at its Neuro Surgery Department at a cost of Rs 25 million.
At the inauguration of the Spinal Clinic, Dr Salman Sharif of Neuro Surgery Department said the latest machines and equipment had been provided at the Spinal Clinic.
The spinal cord and brain surgeries through the latest equipment were being performed only in the USA and UK, he said adding for the first time, those operations would now be performed in Pakistan.
He explained the procedure of operations through some equipment, available at the hospital. The machines and equipment used in these clinics included CARM system, real time fluoroscopy, online imaging, ultrasonic separator, laser camera etc.
He said that with the help of those machines, the doctors could decide the exact locations for a surgery.
For example, Dr Salman said, if a screw was fixed in a bone the doctors could decide the exact place much before the operation through those equipment. Those machines could also help reduce the risks to life, he added.
Now the operations of brain tumors can be performed very easily. With the help of ultrasonic laser, tumors can be dissolved and through endoscopy camera, the tumors in smaller parts of brain can be removed.
These cameras can be inserted through a smaller hole or through the passage of nose, which has reduced the many risks to life or complications. The patients' stay period in hospitals has also been reduced to only three days instead of previous 10 to 15 days.
The side effects during brain operations like Epilepsy, eyes defects have also been eliminated due to those equipment, he added.
Dr Salman said for the first time an operation through Titanium Gadget had been performed at the LNH.
He hoped that during the next two months epilepsy surgery would also be started in the spinal clinic, adding the spinal clinic would be performed on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Dr Salman Sharif said the patients had been waiting for those facilities for many months and now with spinal clinics operation, their waiting was about to end.
Dr Ejaz Aslam and Dr Rafay Zafar also explained functioning of the equipment.-PR