Amid a Pandemic-cum-panic-stricken 2020, news other than Corona rarely made headlines. Mianwali district, incidentally one of the bottom districts at the provincial development index, produced more than headline stuff in the same period. It set up a Laparoscopic Surgery Suite at District Headquarters Hospital, Mianwali and performed record free surgeries.
Before the establishment of a Laparoscopic surgery facility, the local population had to travel to Rawalpindi or Lahore for the surgeries, both cities hundreds of kilometers from Mianwali. Since Laparoscopic surgery was expensive as well, people used to delay and avoid the treatment due to financial burden, the ongoing situation called for immediate reforms to facilitate patients. The introduction of a state-of-the-art Laparoscopic Surgery Suite has made a historic contribution to the healthcare system of Mianwali by providing timely diagnosis and treatment services within the district.
The man behind this masterstroke is District Surgeon, Dr. Usman Imtiaz, who holds an FCPS, besides his MBBS degree. He serves at DHQ Mianwali on a BS-18 position. Dr. Usman not only pioneered this initiative of establishing the surgery suite but he has also taken the number of surgeries to 100 in three months since June 2020, at a time when COVID-19 had challenged everyone especially doctors.
Dr.Usman started by bringing together a team of experienced and dedicated doctors for this noble cause. Dr.Usman and his team have successfully performed different types of surgical procedures at DHQ Mianwali including Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic Appendectomy, Laparoscopic Ovarian Cystectomy, Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, Laparoscopic Varicocoelectomy, Laparoscopic Mesh Hernioplasty and Diagnostic & Laparoscopic Gastrojejunostomy.
Usually, Laparoscopic Surgery costs over 90,000 but Dr. Usman has gone the extra mile to facilitate people at Mianwali with the start of the Laparoscopy services free of cost. For the first time in history, free Laparoscopic services have been made available at a DHQ level hospital, normally public sector hospitals are found wanting at established centers let alone a district like Mianwali.
Dr. Usman Imtiaz has said, “I feel honored to initiate Laparoscopic surgery and advanced Laparoscopic surgery at DHQ Mianwali. Laparoscopy is a modern surgical technique performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions with the help of a camera, this surgery undertakes precision-driven procedures and it benefits the patient with shorter recovery time. With the help of Laparoscopic surgeries, we are able to treat patients without large open wounds or incisions decreasing blood loss, pain and discomfort. The absence of the facility meant that people had to travel to distant cities, for patients, already in pain, long-travel worsens their ailments. I am indebted to the Deputy Commissioner Mianwali Umer Sher Chatha for his immense support, this initiative would not have been possible without his support”.
Gladly, the District Headquarters Hospital Mianwali now has its own Laparoscopic Surgical Suite providing free Laparoscopic surgical services to patients daily. The district inevitably has set the trail ablaze for other healthcare facilities. At the same time, Dr.Usman deserves much appreciation for this great achievement, he has made the whole medical fraternity proud and set a course for others to follow.
The writer is a Program Development Expert in the Punjab Health Department