Imphal, December 12: Strongly reacting to the news report published in this paper on the December 12 issue under the caption, "RIMS adds another feather in its cap", two senior and experienced doctors from the same institute have dubbed the 'achievement' as 'absolutely false and rubbish'.

In a statement Dr GS Moirangthem, Professor and Head of Surgical Gastrology and Minimal Access Surgery, RIMS and Dr Ch Arunkumar Singh Assistant Professor, Surgical Gastrology and Minimal Surgery said that the news report that Abdominal Perinneal Resection (APR) and Total Resected Excision (TME) for Cancer led by Dr AD Sharma was conducted for the first time in the State is baseless and false.

Asserting their stand, the two doctors said that APR is a century old procedure and added many pioneering surgeons of Manipur such as the late Dr NB Roy, H Lalmohon, Prof S Prasad, Prof N Bijoy Singh (Now an MLA), Dr S Samarkanta, Prof L Amarjit (Now Chairman of MPSC) and Prof TB Balu, Head of the Department of Surgery, RIMS have performed such an operation.

The statement said that before and after establishing the Surgical Gastrology headed by Dr GS Moirangthem, the same operation has been conducted many times earlier.

The procedure of TME is an advanced technique, which nonetheless has been in vogue in Manipur for the last five years, said the two doctors and added that many patients from Mizoram and Nagaland have been referred to them for the same.

In fact the Unit of Surgical Gastrology and Minimal Access Surgery headed by Dr GS Moirangthem have been administering the latest method to stone case patients with the help of 'Total Irrigation Kit', asserted the two doctors.

This was procured from Indian Cancer Society, Mumbai on payment, explained the statement and added that with this method, patients are no longer handicapped for they have a control over releasing their faeces which is passed through an opening called Stoma.

The so called pioneering achievement published in the media is nothing but an attempt to gain cheap publicity, said the two doctors, reasoning that such a procedure has been conducted many times earlier.

The news report was published in The Sangai Express on the basis of a statement issued by the Superintendent of RIMS.

Dr GS Moirangthem further said that at the moment there are two patients under his care after undergoing APR and TME and added that anyone who wants to authenticate this can do so by visiting the patients at the Surgery Ward, RIMS.

Comment