Participants at the workshop pose for a group photo.

KUWAIT: There are 3,888 patients underwent laparoscopic procedures from Jan to Oct 2016, including 500 cases that required intervention during the procedure, either to remove a benign or malignant tumor or to stop bleeding. This was stated by Dr Wafa Al-Hashash, internist, gastroenterologist, liver and liver transplant consultant and head of the gastroenterology and liver unit at the Sabah Health Zone.

Hashash told a workshop held at the gastroenterology and liver unit that modern surgery equipment and the GI tract laparoscope can be used to stop bleeding and remove varicose, benign and malignant tumors without leaving any traces by using electrocautery equipment and water cutting with a multipurpose tube instead of an injection. This process guarantees the doctor and patient total safety and no penetrations during the process, besides the use of argon gas that helps the area to clot without touching the tissue.

Hashash said that among the advantages of this system in the GI tract is the ability to control bleeding without touching the tissue, especially since ionic argon gas was successfully used in open surgeries. She said that it is safe to use it in the treatment of the stomach, duodenum and colon. Among the modern methods is to isolate a part of the tissue with the use of pressurized water, as it has been proven as a safe treatment method, without touching the layer near it, to reduce the possibility of penetrating any healthy tissue.

By Abdellatif Sharaa