‘Only one neurosurgeon for 720,000 people in Pakistan’

LAHORE: In order to reduce the trauma and sufferings of neurosurgery patients, young doctors must be imparted training of modern methods and techniques of neurosurgery every year on regular basis while seniors professionals must seriously focus on transferring their knowledge and experience to young professionals.

This was stated expressed by the participants of the 29th International Neurosurgery Conference organised by Pakistan Society of Neurosurgeons in collaboration with Department of Neurosurgery, Lahore General Hospital, in its concluding session here on Sunday.

The three-day conference, held under the chairmanship of Pakistan Society of Neurosurgeons President Prof Anjum Habib Vohra, was attended by prominent experts of neurosurgery belonging to Pakistan as well as the US, KSA, the UK, Japan and other countries. Renowned professor of neurosurgery Dr Khalid Mahmood, chairman of the organising committee of the conference, Prof Nazeer Ahmed, Prof Tariq Salahud Din, Prof Rizwan Masood Butt, Prof Shahzad Shamas and Prof Anwar Ch along with other neurosurgeons also participated in the event.

As many as 65 research articles were presented and read out by experts and lectures were delivered by the delegates during the conference. To impart practical training and knowledge to young Pakistani doctors, a training workshop comprising five sessions was also conducted in the Skill Lab established at newly-constructed Punjab Institute of Nuero Sciences during the conference.

Prof Khalid Mahmood told the media that only one neurosurgeon was available for 720,000 people in Pakistan and this ratio was 8 to 10 times less than in western countries. Our institutions are producing 14 neurosurgeons annually that cannot cater to the needs of rapidly-growing population of Pakistan.

Prof Khalid Mahmood said that in Pakistan, neurosurgery was started in Karachi by Prof O V Jooma in 1952 while Brigadier G D Qazi initiated this mission in 1956 in Lahore at CMH. Renowned neurosurgeon Prof Bashir Ahmed joined hands with them in 1964. Over these 64 years, there has been colossal development in neurosurgery in Pakistan, he said.

He said that it was the need of the hour to establish more and more treatment centres for neuro complications. He said that Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif had rendered great efforts in this respect by initiating construction of Punjab Institute of Neuro-Science at a cost of Rs 2.30 billion for its Phase one. He said 5,000 neurosurgeries were conducted at Lahore General Hospital annually.