The Department of Surgery, GMCH, will be conducting the 6^th Fellowship Course of the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India in December 2007.

Over the past 10 years, Laparoscopic surgery has become the standard for many procedures in General Surgery. Starting with laparoscopic cholecystectomy and gynaecologic procedures, it is nowadays being utilized for practically every trans-abdominal and retroperitoneal procedures. Whipple pancreatico-duodenectomy, long considered the ultimate open surgery, is being done by minimally invasive techniques at many centres. Even aorto-bifemoral vascular bypass have been placed with lap assistance!

At the same time, it should be recognized that laparoscopic methods are not suitable for every patient. Even the masters of minimally invasive surgery convert to open surgery, considering the patient safety first of all. But which patients are for laparoscopic technique? When to convert? Modification of technique for laparoscopic access?

Complications are part and parcel of the practice of surgery. It is often said that only non-operating surgeons have no complications. But some complications are acceptable and some are not, leading to medico-legal issues. Legally, it is understood that an accredited surgeon has the minimum expertise required to perform a procedure, and understands how to prevent complications.

Being a technology driven technique, Government Medical Colleges have been late in acquiring and implementing minimally invasive techniques. This implies that most of the trainees have not been exposed to these techniques during their training period. But once they come out of Medical College, they are expected to perform these surgeries.

For all the above reasons, it has become mandatory to have a body which imparts training in Minimal Access Surgery. AMASI has taken up this challenge and has been conducting regular Regional and National workshops. A Fellowship course has been introduced and  is running successfully all over India. It is hoped that certification will help in promoting laparoscopic surgery, reducing complications, and may help in medico-legal cases also.

The skill courses conducted by AMASI are the basic required by any surgeon stepping into the laparoscopic field. As evident from the programme, the course attempts to provide comprehensive knowledge, from OT setup to advanced laparoscopic surgery. It fills a gap felt by most surgeons who stepped out of Medical College without any training in laparoscopic surgery.  AMASI has attempted to shorten the learning curve, and even experienced lap surgeons will find it useful for conducting advanced lap surgery.

Towards this end, the Dept. of Surgery, GMCH is hosting the Minimal Access Surgery Training and Fellowship Programme from 6th to 9th December, 2007. The AMASI Fellowship course is supported by the Medical Council of India.