AKUH's 'Signs, Symptoms and Care' Programme

“It is possible to cure prostate cancer if it is diagnosed at an earlier stage, and surgery as well as radiation therapy are good treatment options for this disease.” This was stated by Dr Khurram Siddiqui, Consultant Urologic Surgeon at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), speaking a seminar on “Recent advances in management of renal stone disease and diseases of the prostate gland.” The seminar was held on September 22, 2006 in Quetta, and is the first such event to be held in the provincial capital under the aegis of the University’s ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care’ Programme series. In addition to the three Collection Units and the Stat Lab already operating, AKUH has also established a patient referral and information desk to facilitate hassle free access to patients from Balochistan to quality health care in Karachi.

Dr Siddiqui informed that in men, the prostate gland tends to enlarge with age, often leading to urinary problems. The gland is also predisposed to development of cancer, age being the most common risk factor. He however said that while most prostate gland diseases are not carcinogenic, it is prudent that a medical examination is undertaken to eliminate such possibilities. Early diagnosis of prostate cancer is enabled through prostate-specific antigen (PSA) - a specific blood test.

Dr Siddiqui informed that treatment of benign prostatic enlargement is primarily medicine-based; however selected cases do necessitate surgery, which in any advanced Centre is performed through the normal urine passage and does not require any cut.

Speaking on ‘stone disease in the urinary tract’, Dr Siddiqui said that to urologists, this is a very common presentation and 30 to 40 per cent patients admitted to urology wards suffer from its symptoms or complication. Revealing that Pakistan is situated in a ‘stone belt’ – where the prevalence of urinary stone is high. Further, the awareness of urolithiasis and accessibility to quality heath care is hardly at a satisfactory level: doctors frequently encounter several cases of large renal stones requiring invasive treatment.

Recent developments enable minimally invasive and non invasive treatment to patients, and open surgery or cutting for stone is becoming rare. Approximately 95 per cent of stone patients at AKUH are treated by minimally invasive techniques including shock wave treatment (ESWL), ureteroscopy (URS), percutaneous surgery (PCNL) and laparoscopy. Dr Siddiqui outlined the types of treatment applicable to various aspects of stone disease, including ESWL which can be performed as a day case without anaesthesia, and ‘keyhole’ surgery for severely damaged kidneys requiring stone removal.

As part of its outreach programme and societal commitment to creating awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH has organised over 200 ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care’ programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad and the UAE, benefiting more than 40,000 people. Similarly, Aga Khan University Hospital’s Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of treatment. In 2005, 74 per cent of all patients treated at AKUH were from low- to middle-income groups. Since the inception of this welfare programme in 1986, over Rs. 1.4 billion has been disbursed to more than 250,000 needy patients.