AKU surgeons working on a storybook

KARACHI: Surgeons at the Aga Khan University(AKU) started working on a book to narrate a story of the evolution of surgical specialities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, beginning from its birth in 1947 to the present state with contemplations across medical colleges, health facilities, institutions and pioneers in the field.  

This was revealed at the inaugural session of the 7th AKU Annual Surgical Conference, Surgical Research: Exploring our History – Navigating the Future.  

"Surgeons' ability to improve the quality of patient care as a consequence of surgical research has increased. 

As a direct result of the scarcity of resources, expertise, and technology in developing countries like Pakistan, the book's authors plan to examine what methods and tools are required to improve surgical training and research "Dr Shahzad Shamim, one of the editors and the chair of this year's conference's organising committee, made the remarks.

Dr Muhammad Rizwan Khan, Dr Safdar Ali Shaikh, and Dr Syed Ather Enam are also contributing editors. Within a few months, the team plans to release the book. There are two principal certification bodies in Pakistan: the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) and public and private teaching hospitals (PTHs).

​While the healthcare system's capacity in the country has not expanded at the pace of surgical care needs, COVID-19 had widened the gap further with financial implications on the healthcare system, education, and research. Dr Shamim further noted that novel COVID-19 variants like Omicron are creating delays even in scheduled procedures because of their impact on healthcare facilities and staff.

The conference would explore how to deal with new challenges while keeping an eye on existing issues, addressing the deficit of trained surgical specialists, the non-uniform presence of qualified surgeons in urban and rural areas and the dearth of a centralised structured training body.  

This year's AKU Annual Surgical Conference, according to Dr Shamim, is exceptional because of the sessions dedicated to the surgical history, particularly in Pakistan, as well as the future of surgery and surgical research. "We only get a quick glimpse of our history in textbooks and curriculum", Dr Shamim expressed.

Research from the conference is published in a special supplement of the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association.  

The three-day conference would feature more than 100 experts from around the planet and several sessions, including keynote addresses by author and speaker Henry Marsh and David B. Hoyt, Executive Director of American College of Surgeons, and dialogue with musician and Salman Ahmad, the UN Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS.  

Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President, AKU, Adil Haider Dean, Medical College and Syed Ather Enam Chairperson, Department of Surgery, addressed the inaugural session.