Common Surgical Diseases

Good evening!

I’m Dr. Vijay Arora. I’m a surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi. I had the department of general and laparoscopic surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

I’m very happy to be talking to you today and the topic that I have selected to give this small descriptive talk is surgical diseases. You will understand that there are many types of diseases that a person may suffer from. Some of these diseases may require surgery for its treatment and cure. Very often I find people who have a problem. They do not understand what exactly the required treatment is. All problems start probably with the same symptoms. Maybe pain, now if you have pain in your tummy and the diagnosis which is formed after an investigation is that you have a stone in the gallbladder or you have acute appendicitis or you have an ulcer and you are told that these things will require surgery. Majority of the patients at that time ask “is surgery necessary? Can it be cured with medication? Can I buy some time? Can I be relieved of my pain now? Yes! All these things can be done. Sometimes it is emergency and surgery is to be done urgently. Sometimes the acute problem can be controlled. You can have a pain, you can get a painkiller and then you know you have a stone in your gallbladder and you are told you have surgery done. There are many patients who say “I know I have a stone in the gallbladder but I have never had pain. Should I have surgery done?” as long as you understand that at the first sign of symptoms pain or any other symptom related to that disease you will come. Why it is that patients do not want surgery? Because of the fear that surgery can have complications and also many people feel why should I have surgery now? It will come back again. Some things do reoccur but some things do not. And my talk this evening to you is when you are told that it is surgical disease and you require surgery for care you can plan your surgery and that planned surgery will have better results than emergency surgery. So do not land up in a situation where you have to have emergency surgery. A person who comes with pain I diagnosed appendicitis I say that okay you have the surgery done there are 2 possibilities, one the patient becomes alright with medications, never has pain again and then he says,” oh! The surgeon wants to operate because he wants to make money” but on the other hand the person whose appendicitis ruptures and then it becomes peritonitis the whole abdomen is distended and he lands up with a bigger surgery and he is told you were told you have appendicitis do not ignore it. Either of these two patients may be the category you belong to. My suggestion is do not ignore surgical treatment when your problem requires it. And you can have another opinion, you can have two people come to the same diagnosis but unfortunately today patients’ do not come to the surgeons for second opinion. They go to some other specialists who may or may try to cure you with medications.

So my suggestion to you is when it is a surgical disease get cured by surgery. Do not ignore the option of surgical treatment. Thank you!