Dr. Jaideep

Q1. What exactly is Laparoscopy?

Laparoscopy is an alternative to 'Open' surgery wherein the abdomen is opened by tiny 'key hole' incisions and surgery is done. 'Scopy' means the use of an endoscope or telescope to see inside the abdomen. This is attached to a camera and a light source and the inside of the abdomen is projected on to a monitor. The surgeon performs surgery looking at this screen. The surgeon makes a total of 2-4 small cuts on the abdomen ranging from half to 1 cm through which the telescope and other thin surgical instruments are passed into the abdomen. When the uterus is removed , known as hysterectomy, there is also a cut at the top of the vagina where the uterus is attached.

Q2. What kind of gynaecological surgeries can be performed by Laparoscopy?

Most surgeries done in gynaecology can now be performed by Laparoscopy and do not require the large incision as for open surgery. Laparoscopy can be done sometimes only for diagnosis and is called Diagnostic Laparoscopy, as in checking whether the tubes are open or not and to look for any causes of infertility or pain outside the uterus. In women who are unable to conceive, Diagnostic Laparoscopy is often combined with Hysteroscopy (endoscope inside the uterus, inserted from below, via the vagina). When laparoscopy is done to perform some surgical procedure inside the abdomen it is called Operative Laparoscopy. This may be for simple procedures like sterilization, minor adhesions, drilling ovaries; or for intermediate or major reasons like fibroids, endometriosis, removal of ovaries or tubes or both or removal of uterus, for staging of cancers or radical surgeries for cancer. However, about 5% of all surgeries including those for cancer or very large tumours may benefit from open surgery.

Q3. Why does an expert surgeon recommend Laparoscopy over Open Surgery?

Laparoscopic surgery has many advantages above open surgery: the incisions are much smaller (open surgery incisions are 8-10 cms long), therefore pain is much less; requirement for pain killers (which can have side-effects like sleepiness, impaired judgement) is lesser; hospital stay is shorter; complications fewer; requirement for blood transfusions infrequent; recovery in terms of physical, emotional and mental state is much better and quicker; return to work is faster with consequent lesser loss of working and earning days. Surgery with laparoscope is more precise because it is magnified view. Further vision is much better because it's like having your eye behind the structure because you can see with the telescope at places where the surgeon's eye cannot reach.

Q4. If the cuts on the abdomen are so small in Laparoscopic surgery, how do you remove the uterus or a large tumour from inside the abdomen?

Quite often if the tumour is not malignant and contains fluid, it is punctured to collapse it into a smaller size. If it is solid, it can be cut into smaller pieces inside the abdomen using a special instrument. The collapsed or cut structures can be removed gently through the 1 cm cut on the abdomen which may be increased a bit if required. After hysterectomy, the uterus can be removed easily from below, through the vagina.

Q5. Will there be much pain or discomfort after Laparoscopic Surgery?

There may be some pain and discomfort in lower abdomen for one day to few days after Laparoscopic surgery but this is much less as compared to open surgery because the incisions on the abdomen are much smaller and there is much less tissue handling inside the abdomen by fine instruments instead of rough, big, gloved hands which can cause tissue injury in open surgery. There may be some pain in the shoulder following laparoscopy. This is not serious and is due to the gas used in the surgery to make space for instruments.

Q6. When can I be discharged from hospital?

Following Diagnostic Laparoscopy or with simple Operative Laparoscopy you can expect to be discharged from hospital latest by the morning after surgery. In most other cases of intermediate or even major surgery, discharge is generally 1-2 days following the surgery unless there is some health issues prior to the surgery or any complication during the surgery. The complication rates for Laparoscopic surgery are not more than for open surgery and depend upon patient factors like anaemia, diabetes, obesity and skill of the surgeon.

Q7. When can I perform routine household activities or return to work after Laparoscopic Surgery?

Recovery after surgery depends upon many factors: presence of health problems before surgery; why the surgery is required; what surgery is being done; problems or complications of surgery, anaesthesia or blood transfusions. If all is well, one can perform routine household activities by 1 week, provided one doesn't feel tired. Although there may not be any harm, it may be unwise to be normally active within 48 hours of procedure. Following Diagnostic Laparoscopy or Operative Laparoscopy for simple procedures, one can return to work in 1 week. For other procedures, a 2-3 week off from work is reasonable. It depends on the type of work you are returning to. Avoid too rapid return to work if it is manually hard or requires standing for long durations of time. Sometimes a surgical procedure brings on a well needed rest and break from a lifetime of work. Mostly, when you return to work depends upon your own body and its signals of tiredness. You need to listen to those signals.

Did you know barley water is good for kidney stones?
Barley (jau), a member of grass family, is a cereal that has been cultivated for over 13, 000 years. Packed with carbohydrates (78%), fat (1%), protein (10%) and water (10%), barley is a rich source of essential nutrients, dietary fiber, vitamins such as niacin, manganese, phosphorus and vitamin B6.

With several health benefits to its name, barley water is termed as the elixir to good health. It has been found to be beneficial in reducing chances of heart disease, soothing bowels, reducing blood cholesterol levels, improving blood sugar regulation in the body and acts as nutritive broth for fever, cold and cough. Additionally, studies support that barley water has also been found to play an integral role in maintaining renal health.

What is a renal stone?
A renal stone is a solid stony piece consisting of crystal forming substances in the urinary tract. They are usually formed when the urine is abundant in substances such as calcium, oxalate and uric acid and lack substances that inhibit their accumulation. While small kidney stones can pass through the urinary system without any symptoms, a stone larger than 5 mm can result in blockages in the urinary tract causing severe pain in the back and lower abdomen.

What causes renal stones?
- A family history for stones, lack of adequate water in the body, high BMI, excessive intake of diets rich in protein, sodium and sugar have been found to be some of the common causes for stone formation.

Try protein foods & supplements
- Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel syndrome and renal tubular acidosis have also been found to alter the digestion of calcium.

How does barley water aid the dissolution of renal stones?
Studies show that regular use of barley water can dissolve and eliminate existing kidney stones and prevent the occurrence of stones and other kidney problems. Use of diuretics either natural or synthetic can help speed up the expulsion of the stone.

Diuretic in nature, barley water helps to flush toxins from the kidneys by creating bladder pressure and increasing the frequency of urination.

- It helps maintain the PH levels in the body, making it alkaline, preventing various urinary tract issues, including kidney stones.

- The vitamin B6 and magnesium in barley helps break down the masses of toxic calcium oxalate (primary cause for stones) in the kidney.

Dietary fiber in barley reduces the amount of calcium that is excreted by the body through urine, restoring renal health and cleansing the kidneys.

Ways to prepare barley water:
- Boil 1 litre of water with a tablespoon of barley pearls and boil on a low flame for about 30 minutes or until the water has reduced to half.
- Strain and cool this mix and drink it through the day.
- Add lemon juice or honey to make the mix tasty

Regular use of barley water ensures that the renal system is hydrated, healthy and free of depositions such as renal stones. So, go ahead and add this elixir to your diet to ensure a healthy renal system and a healthier you. Eat healthy, stay healthy!

Breast cancer awareness

October is breast cancer awareness month and a great time to highlight the importance of maintaining healthy habits to support breast health. One disease that most women fear these days, you would probably reply" breast cancer.

Understand what you can do to reduce your breast cancer risk. So follow these guidelines and know that you are doing all that you possibly can to protect yourself from developing breast cancer. Be thankful every day that your breasts are healthy. 

Check your own breasts regularly. Do monthly self-breast examinations after your period is over. If you find any lumps or tenderness that concerns you, have it checked out right away. Fortunately, 80% of breast lumps are benign. When you examine your breasts, remember that lumps which are soft, movable, and change with your menstrual cycle are much less likely to be cancerous. Any discharge from the nipple other than breast milk should be checked out by your health professional.
Get regular mammograms. In a woman without breast symptoms and with no significant risk of breast cancer, I recommend mammograms beginning age 35 or 40 every two years. For women without breast symptoms who are at higher risk of breast cancer, I recommend yearly mammograms beginning at age 35. Beginning at age 50, the rate of breast cancer goes up, so yearly mammograms are advised.

Limit alcohol intake. The more alcohol you drink, the greater your risk of developing breast cancer.

Get to and maintain a healthy weight - if your bmi is out of the healthy range, find a program and tools to help you get to a healthy weight, which is important for maintaining health in general, including breast health. Obesity, particularly after menopause, can greatly increase your risk of breast cancer. Aim for gradual weight loss by choosing minimally processed foods and eating smaller portions.

Don't smoke - accumulating evidence suggests a link between smoking and breast cancer risk, particularly in pre -menopausal women.

Exercise regularly - physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight, which, in turn, helps prevent breast cancer. 

Limit dose and duration of hormone therapy - if you're taking hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, ask your doctor about other options. You might be able to manage your symptoms with non-hormonal therapies and medications.

Choose the right supplements - filling in nutrition gaps with supplements can help you support breast health. Look for options that contain vitamin d and omega-3 fatty acids, as they have both been associated with maintaining breast health.

Breast-feed your babies for as long as possible - women who breast-feed their babies for at least a year in total have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer later.

Ultra sound is commonly known as sonography. It is a process of reproducing ultrasound images of soft tissues of a particular body part and other organs on the computer screen with the help of the echoes of the sound waves produced by the transducer, a high-frequency generating instrument.
Ultra sound is commonly used during the different stages of pregnancy to denote the foetal health, date of delivery, birth defects etc. However, in recent times, the ultra sound has also been associated with the diagnosis of other body parts such as the eyes, heart, gall bladder, liver, ovary, uterus, kidney, uterus, testicles, and ovaries. Ultra sound has also been useful in conducting biopsies for suspecting cancer patients, although not all of the cancers are detected by this imaging process. 3D & 4D ultrasound imaging are useful for looking at a particular body portion with much more precision and in slow motion respectively.

The advantages of ultra sound are:
1. The process of ultrasound imaging is a painless and a fast one. It does not require any insertion of needles or similar objects to denote the problems of the concerned body part.
2. The process is more convenient as compared to other similar imaging processes like MRI, mammogram and x-rays as they can capture images of the soft tissues, blood flow & cysts more clearly than the other processes.
3. The process is free of any harmful effects as there are no chances of exposure to radiation as compared to similar processes such as CT scans or X-rays. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

Are you experiencing excessive uterine bleeding? Excessive uterine bleeding may occur between a woman’s periods or before the periods, after having sex, or due to the development of spotting or bleeding after attaining menopause. Any menstrual cycle, which lasts longer than 21–35 days is called excessive, and this is an abnormal form of uterine bleeding.

Causes of Excessive Uterine Bleeding:

The various causes of excessive uterine bleeding are as follows:

1. One of the main causes is hormonal imbalance, as the balance between estrogen and progesterone gets disrupted. This balance is required for the regulation and development of the lining of endometrium or uterus lining. Because of the hormonal imbalance, the endometrium develops excessively causing heavy bleeding.

2. Uterine fibroids, which are non cancerous tumours, may lead to prolonged and excessive uterine bleeding.

3. Polyps are small benign developments on the uterus lining which cause heavy bleeding. They occur because of high levels of hormones.

4. Adenomyosis is a condition which develops when the endometrium glands get embedded in the uterine muscle, leading to excessive uterine bleeding.

5. Using intrauterine devices or IUDs may cause side effects as well.

6. Several pregnancy complications may also lead to excess bleeding. Ectopic pregnancy is a common cause.

7. Several uterine cancers, ovarian cancers and cervical conditions may be responsible as well. Inherited bleeding disorders such as von Willebrand’s disease is another likely cause.

8. Several medicines and drugs, including NSAIDs and anticoagulants are a common cause.

9. Medical conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, liver and kidney disease or thyroid problems can also cause excessive uterine bleeding.

Treatment:

There are different ways of treating excessive uterine bleeding, depending upon the cause of bleeding and the patient’s age.

1. Medications: Several medicines are used for the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding. Hormonal medicines and birth control pills are used to improve the regularity of periods. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are also used to manage excessive uterine bleeding. Several antibiotics are also used.

2. Surgery: In many cases, a woman has to undergo a surgery for the removal of polyps and fibroids, which cause excessive bleeding. Certain fibroids are removed via hysteroscopy and other techniques for treatment are used as well. Endometrial ablation can be carried out to manage the bleeding. This treatment aims at permanent reduction of the excess bleeding. Hysterectomy has to be carried out when other treatments are unsuccessful. This is a serious surgery and after it, a woman will no longer have periods, and she will not be able to conceive a child.

In case of excessive uterine bleeding, you must consult a doctor as soon as possible. This will enable early treatment and prevent the development of further complications.

The symptoms caused due to herniated disc can be very severe and can also cause a bit of disability. The disc of the spine is like a cushion and separates the set of bones on the backside. The discs are shock absorbers of the spine and are mainly composed of 2 parts, a soft jelly-like centre called the nucleus and a tough outer covering called the annulus.

Effects of Herniated Disk

A herniated or cracked disc is a severe condition and it seems to happen most commonly in the lower back or neck.  It happens when a fraction of the soft centre gets pushed through the destabilized area due to degeneration, trauma or by putting pressure on the spinal column. 

Nerves located at the back of every disc are responsible for transmitting pain, motor impulse, bladder control etc. in our body. While a disc gets herniated, the external covering of the disc tears and creates a bulge. The soft jelly gets shifted from the centre of the disk to the region where the damage has occurred on the disc. Most commonly, the bulge occurs in areas where the nerve is located and it causes strain and irritation of the affected nerve. It has been observed that individuals may or may not feel any painful sensations even if their disc gets damaged. Other symptoms may be weakness of muscle groups or difficulty in controlling the bladder.

When is surgery recommended for herniated disc?

Surgery for herniated disc is recommended only after options like rest and pain relievers do not work. If the pain persists even after these options, then it becomes important to go for surgery. Surgery is also considered early if there is weakness of muscle groups or acute problem in bladder control. At times, emergency surgery is also required to avoid paralysis in a patient.

However, there are certain risks involved in this surgery like infection, bleeding or nerve damage.  There are chances that the leftover disc may bulge out again. If you are a patient suffering from degenerative disc disease, then there are chances that problem occurs in other discs. It is very important that a patient maintains healthy weight to prevent any further complications.

The main factor that increases the risk of herniated disc is excess body weight, which causes a lot of stress on the lower back. A few people become heir to a tendency of developing this condition. Even individuals with physically demanding jobs are prone to this condition. 

Activities like bending sideways, pushing, twisting, repetitive lifting can increase the risk of a herniated disk. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Neurosurgeon.

While you cannot cure breast diseases, family history and maturing, but there are some hazards or risks that you can control. Keeping in mind the fact that there is no certain approach to forestall breast cancer, there are things you can do that may bring down the hazard. Here are five approaches to ensure your breast's well-being:

1. Watch your weight: Being overweight or hefty expands breast cancer chances. This is particularly true after menopause and for women who have put on weight as grown-ups. After menopause, the vast majority of your estrogen originates from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue can heighten your chances of getting breast cancer by raising the estrogen levels. Additionally, women who are overweight have a tendency to have more elevated amounts of insulin, than other hormones. Higher insulin levels have been associated with a few tumors, including breast cancer.
2. Exercise routinely: Many reviews have found that exercise is the sign of having a healthy breast. Studies show that one to two hours of energetic walking each week, lessened a woman’s cancer risk by eighteen percent. Walking ten hours seven days decreased the hazard all the more.
3. Constrain liquor: Women who have two to five mixed beverages every day have a higher danger of breast cancer than women who have just one drink a day or none . As much as three to six glasses of wine seven days have been found to somewhat increase breast cancer chances. It is not clear how or why liquor raises the hazard. In any case, constraining liquor is particularly essential for women who have other hazard variables for breast cancer, like, breast cancer running in their families.
4. Restrain time spent sitting: Research has shown that sitting time, regardless of how much exercise you get when you are not sitting, increases the probability of growing cancer, particularly for women. Women who sit six hours or more a day outside of work have a ten percent more serious risk for breast cancer compared to the ladies who sit under three hours a day, and an increased hazard for other cancer types as well.
5. Stay away from or confine hormone substitution treatment: Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT) was utilized frequently in the past to control night sweats, hot flashes, and other troublesome manifestations of menopause. In any case, specialists now realize that postmenopausal ladies who take a blend of estrogen and progestin might probably create breast tumors or cancer. Breast cancer disease seems to come back within five years in the wake of ceasing the blend of hormones. Therefore, get a breast cancer test even if you feel a small lump. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a gynaecologist.

1. Eat calcium-rich foods

In addition to dairy products, choose fish with bones such as salmon, sardines or whitebait. For additional benefits, serve them with a side of dark leafy green vegetables or broccoli. Almonds, dried figs, fortified tofu and soy milk are also calcium-rich choices, says registered dietitian laura jeffers, med, rd, ld.

2. Take calcium supplements

The u. S. Recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1, 000 mg a day during your 20s, 30s and 40s. But your need rises as you age. Check with your doctor before starting supplements to find out what amount is right for you. For example, after menopause, most women need 1000 to 1, 500 mg a day unless they take hormone therapy. Your body only absorbs 500 mg of calcium at a time, Ms. Jeffers notes, so spread your consumption out over the course of the day.

3. Add d to your day

To help absorb calcium, most adults need 1, 000 to 2, 000 iu of vitamin d daily, combined calcium-vitamin d pills usually do not meet this requirement. And most of us who live north of atlanta do not get enough vitamin d the old-fashioned way — from the sun. Taking a vitamin d supplement will ensure you meet your daily needs.

4. Start weight-bearing exercises

To boost your bone strength, try exercise that “loads” or compresses your bones, says exercise physiologist heather nettle, ma. “running, jogging, high-impact aerobics, repetitive stair climbing, dancing, tennis and basketball are best for building bones. But if you have osteopenia, osteoporosis or arthritis, try walking or using an elliptical or other machine,” she says. Be sure to clear any exercise plans with your doctor first.

5. Don’t smoke, and don’t drink excessively

Bad news for bad habits: loss of bone mineral density is associated with tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption, Dr. Sikon says. If you smoke, look into a program to help you quit. If you drink, stick to no more than one libation a day, she advises.

6. Get your bone mineral density tested

Doctors can get a quick and painless “snapshot” of bone health using a simple x-ray test called dxa. This test measures bone mineral density and helps determine risks of osteoporosis and fracture. Dr. Sikon recommends testing for women within two years of menopause. Earlier tests are recommended for men and women with certain diseases and for those taking medications that increase risk, such as long-term steroid therapy.

7. Medication

Perimenopausal women may consider hormone therapy to increase waning estrogen levels, which are linked to bone loss. And women and men diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis can take various medications to prevent dangerous hip and spine fractures.

This is a form of epithelial cancer and is a lose called eating cancer
Symptoms:- it first appears on the nose as a hard, dusky red sore and spreads in ulcerative form destroying the tissues till the bones are exposed. This affect women 10 time more than men. It usually appears in women between the age. Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain may accompany. It is an ulcerative skin disease and requires a very long-term treatment. Sensitivity to sunlight is usually present. Lupus is caused by disruption of body waste disposal system from failure of special enzyme d nasil, which fails to remove wastes from the body.
Diagnostic tests
The disease is easily noticeable as it is outside the body on the the skin and biopsy is performed to confirm it.
If possible, the affected portion of the body is cut out.
I suggest homoeo doctor consult and homoeo treatment best.