Program started in the morning with first session dedicated to Gastroenterology. Associate Professor and Vice Principal Dr. Shamsul Arfeen Khan recited verses from Holy Quran. The seminar was moderated by Prof. S. Zafar Abbas. Professor of Medicine, Dr. Muhammad Ali of Muhammad Medical College (MMC) welcomed the participants. Senior Medical students and doctors of all levels at Muhammad Medical College as well as senior physicians from Mirpurkhas and nearby town and cites attended in large numbers.
First speaker was Dr. Abdul Ghani Rahimoon, Assistant Professor Medicine and Gastroenterology at Muhammad Medical College. He give an overview on “Peptic Ulcer Disease“. He spoke in detail about epidemiology and aetiology of disease and described the role of Helicobacter pylori in it. He discussed the role of endoscopy in uncomplicated and complicated disease and also the role of surgery. Professor Samiullah Shaikh of Liaquat University of Medical Health Sciences then discussed “Gastro-oesophageal Relflux Disease“. With the help of diagrams and pictures, he held on interactive talk and discussed various risk factors for this disease. He described various treatment options and said that in the era of Proton pump inhibitors, it has become extremely rare to need surgery for uncomplicated GORD. Professor Sadik Memon of Isra University discussed the “differences between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Coeliac disease“. He said that low index of suspicion was required to diagnose celiac disease but IBS was very common. He discussed diagnostic tests for celiac disease. Professor Noor Muhammad Memon of Muhammad Medical College gave a talk on “abdominal tuberculosis“. He said that it was an important but at the same time a difficult disease to diagnose and treat. With the help of picture slides, he explained various presentations of this disease and its management. He then concluded the first session by summarizing the salient points of all the presentations and thanking the speakers and audience.
After tea break, second session commenced which was dedicated to hepatology Professor Syed Zafar Abbas talked about “Decompensated Cirrhosis“. He said it was very important to diagnose this condition as it had important implications on management and prognosis. He discussed different presentation of this condition and their management. Professor Rauf Memon of Dow University of Health Sciences talked about “Chronic Hepatitis virus C“. He discussed various aspects of this illness in length. He said that reasonably successful treatment is available within easy reach via both public and private sectors. He threw light on recent advances in the treatment of this disease. Professor Husnain Ali Shah of The Aga Khan University then discussed chronic Hepatitis B- what do we need to know. He provided an overview on this topic and explained why every infected patient should not be offered drug treatment. He discussed various situations where this disease should be treated.
Last 2 weeks at MMC had seen an intensive course in “Gastroenterology and Hepatology,“ which ended in a quiz competition on 14th March 2012. Final year medical students had an active participation in it. Those who secured distinction marks in the quiz were distributed cash prizes, certificates and shields in this seminar. This was followed by concluding remarks by Professor Syed Razi Muhammad. He pointed out the salient features from all talks and emphasized upon the importance of holding such high quality national seminars in remote areas like Mirpurkhas. He thanked the audience and the speakers who had traveled long distances to participate in this seminar. He particularly thanked Getz Pharma for their enthusiastic support for the seminar.
All the guest were given traditional Ajrak , Shields and a collection of recent publications of the college. The seminar ended by providing lunch to all participants.