Rohtak PGIMS starts endoscopy for kids

Rohtak, October 18

Pt BD Sharma PGIMS here has become the first government healthcare centre in the state to have the facility of paediatric endoscopy and colonoscopy to treat patients below the age of 14 years, who suffer from acute abdominal pain, bleeding from the bowel and other gastro-related diseases.

Earlier, the child patients coming to government hospitals had to be either referred to healthcare centres in Chandigarh and Delhi or they were compelled to get the costly treatment from private hospitals. Now, they will be able to avail the endoscopy and colonoscopy facility free of cost at the department of medical gastroenterology at the PGIMS.

Will benefit patients

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Now, availability of the latest facility at the PGIMS will prove to be a boon to such patients. It has also become the first government-run hospital in the state to have the facility. —Dr Parveen Malhotra, Head, Dept of medical gastroenterology.

“Children have a common tendency of swallowing anything that comes in their hand due to ignorance, which causes abdomen pain and other issues. Surgery is required in a majority of the cases if the facility of paediatric endoscopy and colonoscopy is unavailable. Now, availability of the latest facility at the PGIMS will prove to be a boon to such patients. It has also become the first government-run hospital in the state to have the facility,” said Dr Parveen Malhotra, head, department of medical gastroenterology.

He said, “The paediatric endoscopy requires a different kind of thin endoscopes in comparison to those for adults’ endoscopy and specialised expertise in performing the same. These procedures are especially required in this age group for foreign body removal, variceal banding & glue injection, biopsies and dilatation of the gastro-intestinal tract. There are selected centres for paediatric endoscopy in North India and it is quite costly at private hospitals.”