GASTROINTESTINAL SURGERY

Gastrointestinal surgery, or operations of the digestive tract, is a wide range of operations centered around the digestive system. This includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum. It also includes the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Gastrointestinal surgery may be required for a wide range of reasons, including weight loss, cancer, ulcers, bleeding, infections, etc. Gastrointestinal surgery is a complex field, requiring a detailed understanding of anatomy and continuous practice. Due to the variety of issues and complexity in this region, gastrointestinal surgery requires skilled hands for excellent outcomes.

Dr (Major) R S Rengan, at Home of Healing Surgical Center, is a highly skilled surgeon who has a special interest in gastrointestinal surgery and has, therefore, had practice in this field. He is not just well-versed in open surgery but also has long-standing experience in key-hole (laparoscopic) surgery as well. He has performed thousands of gastro-intestinal surgeries over the last 30 years of his practice. Over the years he has adapted to new technologies and advances to provide the best care possible to his patients.

Some of the gastrointestinal conditions requiring surgery and their surgical details are listed below:

OBESITY requiring BARIATRIC SURGERY:

• In order to treat morbid obesity, bariatric surgery, commonly known as weight-loss surgery, has become common of late. Most of these surgeries involve reducing the size of the stomach, in order to promote early satiety and to decrease absorption of the food contents.
• There are many different forms of bariatric surgery, the most famous being gastric bypass surgery, where the small intestine is directly connected to the food pipe, bypassing the stomach. Other types are the sleeve gastrectomy, involving resection of up to 80% of the stomach, and the adjustable gastric band, a novel reversible procedure that allows for a foreign band to clamp around the first part of the stomach to restrict intake.
• Dr. Rengan has a team of experienced bariatric surgeons to assist him who will provide his patients with the best care possible.

APPENDICITIS requiring APPENDECTOMY:

• Arguably one of the most well-known conditions and surgeries, it is simply the removal of the appendix after infection/inflammation of the organ (appendicitis).
• Appendectomy is most often performed in a key-hole manner these days.
• Rarely cancers of the appendix can also arise.

CANCERS requiring RESECTION:

• Unfortunately, the digestive tract is prone to a variety of cancers, most commonly, colon cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, etc. In these scenarios, often, the affected portion needs to be removed along with some sections of the surrounding organs.
• In some cases, extensive removal may be required. In cases where the digestive tract is resected, the remaining ends of the track will be connected to each other (an anastomosis) to facilitate the digestive movement. Cancer surgeries are most often open surgeries in order to attain the best possible removal results.
• The diagnosis of cancer is one filled with anxiety and stress, and the doctors at our center are well aware of this.
• Dr. Rengan has had years of experience in this specialty and has had multiple successful outcomes. It is also important for us that we educate patients on cancer prevention and screening, including in regular patients. So that any untoward occurrence can be caught early. This promoting chances of survival and good quality of life.
• Cancer surgery is rarely a simple surgery, requiring multidisciplinary involvement and effort. Therefore, our priority is to maintain a patient centric-effort stretching across disciplines.
• We have adequate experience in dealing with esophageal, stomach, colon, rectal, and small bowel cancers for the past 30 years. Our patients have had excellent outcomes.

HERNIAS requiring HERNIA REPAIR:

• Hernias are outpouchings of the organs and tissue into defects/weakness in the body walls. They are a very common problem but can be treated satisfactorily.
• Dr. Rengan is well-versed in a variety of hernia repair surgeries, including laparoscopic repair, TAPP, as well as the mesh-free Desarda technique.
• Dr. Rengan and his team are experts in complex hernia and abdominal surgeries and have performed one of the highest numbers of surgeries in the country.

GALLSTONES requiring GALLBLADDER SURGERY:

• Gallstones are formed in the gall bladder due to various reasons. They are accumulations of bile salts and sometimes, of other substances indicative of different diseases.
• When gallstones obstruct one or more of the biliary ducts, they cause inflammation of the gallbladder. In order to treat and prevent a further recurrence, gallbladder removal or a cholecystectomy can be performed.
• Gallbladder surgeries are most often done in the laparoscopic/ key-hole method.

There are many more surgeries that are performed in the digestive tract in accordance with the wide range of diseases that affect it. Please feel free to visit us for additional information or even if you have any concerns. Surgeons can be visited even if you have questions about your regular health. If the issue is surgical in nature, extensive evaluation (physical examination, blood tests, XRay, CT, MRI, endoscopy, colonoscopy, etc) will be done, and medical treatment attempted (if non-emergent) before going for surgery.

Surgeons can be visited even if you have questions about your regular health. If the issue is surgical in nature, extensive evaluation (physical examination, blood tests, XRay, CT, MRI, endoscopy, colonoscopy, etc) will be done, and medical treatment attempted (if non-emergent) before going for surgery.

Dr. Rengan is a senior laparoscopic surgeon with years of experience in core gastrointestinal surgery. He will be the right person to consult if you have any complex gastrointestinal problems or cancer in the GI system.