Inaugural speech

CME in Obstetrics & Gynaecology

05/03/2011

Respected chairperson, faculty members and dear delegates,

I am extremely delighted to be with you today for the inauguration of this CME. I am happy that you have organized a wonderful CME on complimentary topics which probably students may not be exposed to, even though they have to study those things.

I am wondering how you are managing these academic activities. A hospital attending to24000 normal deliveries per year  and almost 25-30% of this figure in the form of caesarian sections, it really is a herculian task. It is not that easy to find time for classes and discussions. But being an academic institution we have to. With proper planning and time management you can do it, I am sure.

The science and art of providing quality health care to women has made tremendous strides in recent years. In the subspecialties

of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, recent advances in laboratory techniques and in clinical diagnostic, surgical and laparoscopic skills have improved the prevention and early detection of disease. New frontiers have been established in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecological Oncology. Maternal request for elective Caesarean delivery is always a clinician dilemma. The litiginous nature of our society has resulted in record indemnity subscriptions by Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. It is time to ponder on the absurd situation in which the Obstetrician is placed when deciding on a patient’s request for an elective Caesarean delivery for non-medical reasons. Another Obstetric issue that constantly perplexes clinicians is the issue of which test to use to screen for chromosome abnormalities in pregnancy. The plethora of tests, both ultrasound and biochemical, that can be used in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy are clearly evaluated. Another much debated area is cervical cancer screening which has been shown to decrease the incidence of invasive cervical cancer.

Another point to mention here is the lack of an advanced unit for managing infertility. I understand that this subspecialty has grown much faster than any area of Gynaecology. With so many accomplished clinicians we could not establish a modern infertility clinic. I am not ignoring the contributions of individuals in this field. But the next aim of this department should be to establish a laparoscopy unit and infertility clinic. I am sure you can do that and that will definitely bring more glamour to the Dept.