Under the department of Medicine, Muhammad Medical College & Hospital, Mirpurkhas, Gastroenterology Section, a full day Seminar was arranged on 14th May 2009. This was the second seminars arranged to celebrate the services of the founding chairman of Muhammad Foundation Trust, Dr. S. Ali Muhammad (Marhoom). It was titled “Second Mirpurkhas Seminar on Gastroenterology & Hepatology”. Speakers from Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas spoke in the seminar. A large number of final year students, General Practitioners from Mirpurkhas and its surroundings, and hospital doctors attended the seminar.
The program started almost at the exact time with recitation from Holy Quran by Associate Professor in Biochemistry, Dr. Shams-ul-Arfeen Khan. Prof. Syed Zafar Abbas served as stage secretary.
Head of department of Medicine, Prof. Aqeel-ur-Rehman Rajput gave the welcome speech. In his speech full of nice verses and quotations, he welcomed the attendees, especially those who came from other cities. Explaining the aims and objectives of the seminar, he emphasized upon the importance of such programs to continuously train and educate the students and doctors.
Dr. Zulfiqar from Liaqut University of Health and Management Sciences (LUMHS) spoke on “Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease”. He explained the role of excessive eating, obesity, smoking and alcohol on this disease which not only affects the food pipe, but can also affect also other organs such as those of respiration. Dr. Zulfiqar discussed in detail the diagnostic methods, especially endoscopy for the disease, as well as the various ways of its treatment. He discussed in particular the role of Pharmaceutical agents, endoscopic treatment and surgical treatment.
Also from LUMHS, Dr. Samiullah Shaikh talked on “Peptic Ulcer Disease and H.Pylori”. He described the interesting historical aspects of this disease and the role of the bacterium H. Pylori discovered by Professor Warren and Professor B. Marshall of Australia, which earned them Noble Prize in 2007. He said that half of the world population is infected with this germ, and of them around 15% develop this disease. He spoke in detail on the complications and management of Peptic ulcer disease.
Isra University Hyderabad’s Dr. Sadik Memon presented a lecture on “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”. He explained the clinical features and treatment of this illness. He illustrated this disease with the help of different real life cases. He said that this disease affects different people differently in different parts of the world. He also emphasized upon the importance of detailed counseling and sympathetic attitude by doctors. He also said that the patients should stick to a single qualified doctor instead of roaming around and seek advice from many so that the doctors get to know their patients and the effect of this condition on them adequately.
Muhammad Medical College’s Prof. Syed Zafar Abbas discussed “Inflammatory Bowel Disease” especially “Ulcerative Colitis”. He said that this disease is rarer in our setup than the western world and the doctors who have adequate training in treating this illness are not very many. He discussed in detail the causes, symptoms signs, diagnostic tests treatment and complications of this group of diseases. He said that unlike in the past, effective treatment is available for vast majority of such patients these days. Discussing the complications, he described the role of surgical treatment for those who fail to get relief from conservative treatment. He also told audience of new research in treatment of this condition.
When the seminar started in its second session after tea break Dr. Zaigham Abbas of SIUT and The Aga Khan University Hospital talked about “Hepatitis B”. Making the presentation of this complicated topic look easy to the audience, he threw light on the causes of this infection in detail. He presented many examples where many physicians misunderstand the data and thus many make mistakes in its management. Referring the American, European and Asia Pacific guidelines, he discussed various laboratory tests and their interpretations. He stressed upon the importance of managing such complicated problems by specialists only.
The Aga Khan University’s Chairman Department of Medicine, Prof. Saeed Hamid spoke about “Hepatitis C – Past, Present and Future”. He discussed in detail the historical aspects of this infection. He told the audience that unfortunately 10 to 12 million or 6% of all Pakistan population has the infection. He expressed regrets that even today, many quacks and even some qualified doctors are reusing disposable syringes and are thus spreading this infection. He pointed out that some blood banks are not doing all necessary screening tests and are also contributing in spreading it. He discussed the treatment of this disease in detail and said that majority can nowadays be treated successfully. He also told the audience of some research going on, and future prospects of them.
Professor Ghulam Ali Memon of Muhammad Medical College thanked all the speakers. He praised Getz Pharmaceuticals for sponsoring the seminar and encouraged others to support the academic programs in a similar manner. He thanked all participants especially those who had traveled from far away areas to attend this seminar and had braved the extremely hot weather for the sake of education. He also praised the organizers who ran the program smoothly and maintained their reputation of starting and finishing on time, which is unfortunately not very common these days.
At the end speakers were presented seminar shields and Ajraks, and participants were given seminar certificates. Lunch was served at the end of the program.
Earlier, shields, publication set of the College and Sindh’s traditional gift of Ajrak were presented to all speakers by Professor Ghulam Ali Memon, Professor Noor Muhammad Memon, Professor Captain Rasheed, Professor Abdul Rahim Siyal, Dr. Qamar Habib, Dr. Abdullah Memon and Professor Syed Razi Muhammad. Professor Razi Muhammad also distributed shields of Honour among many distinguished guests including presidents of PMA of nearby cities. Professor Syed Zafar Abbas thanked all the audience, speakers, doctors, organizers, workers and Getz Pharma for sponsoring this seminar.