Use diagnostic procedures carefully, medical practitioners told

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 27. It is important that medical practitioners learn to use the new diagnostic procedures carefully and prudently, Prof. K. V. Thiruvengadam, emeritus professor, Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, said today.

He stressed the need for proper training in sophisticated equipment before using them on patients. Both clinical examination and laboratory tests had their roles in diagnosis and it was important to treat the patient as a whole while examining him or her, he said.

Prof. Thiruvengadam was delivering the keynote address after inaugurating a CME programme `Susrutha Surgical Festival,' organised by the Dr. N.R. Research and Digestive Diseases Educational trust and the Surgical Faculty of Railway Hospital, Perambur.

Looking at the future, Prof. Thiruvengadam said there would come a time when computers will take over surgeries and robots would act as directed. ``The surgeon would be more like a traffic constable. He will direct the computers,'' he said.

Prof. N. Rangabashyam, chairman of the Trust, said that the incidence of diabetes was on the increase in the country. The worrying aspect was that the incidence of the disease had shown an increase among youth, he added.

Prof. Rangabashyam emphasised the need for doctors to continue learning even after they qualify as specialists. Enrolling and trying to work on a doctoral project was one of the ways to keep in touch with the habit of reading, he said.

Dr. Peter Stock, Associate Professor of Surgery, University of California, who delivered the Dr. Rangachari oration on `pancreatic versus islet cell transplant,' noted that gene therapy was soaring at a great pace and would bring about a sea change in the whole transplantation scene in the next five years. There has been a significant improvement in results in pancreatic replacement surgeries performed by his hospital, he said. From a rejection rate of about 80 per cent, it has now come down to about 10 per cent, he added.

Dr. M.N. Balakrishnan, medical director, Railway Hospital, who presided, said the hospital organised similar programmes to keep medical practioners updated in various fields of medicine.

Mr. N. Ram, Editor, Frontline, said the gap between the public and private health care delivery mechanisms would be unsustainable for too long. The inadequate commitment of funding to the public sector on the one hand was a reality which could not be ignored.

Noting that Chennai was one of the finest medical centres in the country, he said consistent and committed pursuit of quality on the party of the medical practitioners had, to a great extent, made health care accessible against great odds.

Dr. B.S. Tiruvadanan, GI surgeon, Dr.NVMSV Prem Kumar, senior surgeon, Railway Hospital and Dr.Uma Krishnaswamy, consultant general surgeon, were among those who spoke. The three-day CME programme concludes on April 28.

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