The Founder President – Prof Bawantha Gamage MS, FMASI, FCCSL, FRCS (Eng) 

Editor – Prof K B Galketiya MS FRCS (Eng)

 E- Newsletter is published by the Association monthly and is circulated to the membership.

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The Early Days of Minimal Access Surgery in Sri Lanka : Personal Recollections

Laparoscopic Surgery

Sri Jayawardenapura General Hospital

• The year 1992 could be regarded as the watershed in Minimal Access Surgery in Sri Lanka
• Dr K L Fernando FRCS, regarded as the ‘father’ of laparoscopic surgery in Sri Lanka returned to Sri Lanka from UK, where he had training in this new technique.
• He brought with him his personal equipment and instruments used for laparoscopic surgery and established a Laparoscopic Surgery Unit at the General Hospital Colombo North, Ragama. He was a senior lecturer in surgery at the North Colombo Medical School (Private) and this was the official teaching hospital for that faculty.
• Dr K L Fernando performed the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy at this hospital on 10^th June 1992.
• He also performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy at private hospitals namely Nawaloka and Asiri Hospitals using his own equipment under difficult conditions as there were no assistants trained in this field.
• Dr K L Fernando delivered the first oration on this subject in 1994. That was the Sir A M De Silva Oration organised by The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka. The title of the oration was – Laparoscopy 81 Consecutive Cases in Sri Lanka. His experience was later published in the Sri Lanka Journal of Surgery in 1995 – Ref. Fernando KL. Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: 81 Consecutive Cases in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Surgery.1995;4-17
• In 1992 Laparoscopy was also introduced to Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital, Nugegoda (SJGH) and operations were being done with the assistance of Sri Lankan Expatriate Surgeons domiciled in US on their visits to Sri Lanka. But this was not a regular feature.
• I joined SJGH in 1993. I had no training in this field at that time. In 1994, The Board of the SJGH decided send me and Dr S A W Gunewardena for training at the Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi, India. Following this training we performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy very cautiously. Naturally there was a high conversion rate.
• In 1995 the first Laparoscopic Surgery workshop was held in Sri Lanka. This was one of the workshops conducted at the First meeting of The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka with The Royal College of Surgeons of England held in Colombo. The workshop was held in the Consultants Lounge of The General Hospital Colombo using modules supplied by Karl Storz, Germany. The guests from UK were the trainers at this workshop. (Article + photos in a separate folder).
• From 1998 onwards surgeons from Sri Lanka started attending laparoscopic workshops in India. One of the main centres was the hospital dedicated to Minimal Access Surgery where Dr C Palanivelu MS, MNAHS, Mch (Gastro), FACS one of the pioneers in laparoscopic surgery in India was practicing this art. The Ethicon animal lab in Chennai managed by Johnson & Johnson was another centre where we learnt the techniques of laparoscopic surgery.
• In 1998, I delivered the Sir A M De Silva oration conducted by The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka. The title of the oration was Symptomatic Gallstone Disease in Sri Lanka and The Early Experience in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Sri Lanka. This was later published in the Sri Lanka Journal of Sri Lanka. Reference – Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy – A Six Year Audit in a General Surgical Unit. The Sri Lanka Journal of Surgery 2000,18, 10-15  Goonetilleke G C, Dissanayake T P, Jayesekera S,  Samarakoon D,  Hathurusinghe H,  Perera S.
• In 2000 the first Video Endoscopic System (Fujinon) was introduced to Sri Lanka at the Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital, Nugegoda. Following this the first live video endoscopic workshop with two way communication was held at the same hospital with the participation of consultant surgeons and physicians practicing endoscopy in Sri Lanka.
• In 2001 the first live demonstration of laparoscopic procedures was held in Sri Lanka. This was organised by The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka and was held at the SJGH. The demonstration of procedures was by Dr C Palanivelu which in fact was his first visit to Sri Lanka. ( article and photos in a separate folder)
• The Harmonic Scalpel was introduced for the first time at SJGH in 2001.

• The Ethicon Fellowship was started in 2001. Senior and junior registrars (pre and post MS trainees) were selected for this fellowship. They underwent training in laparoscopic surgery by experts in the field at selected hospitals in India. While the senior registrars were trained for 3 months, the junior registrar’s training was restricted to 1 month. These fellowships were sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.

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The  First laparoscopic Workshop in Sri Lanka – 1995

The first laparoscopy workshop for surgeons in Sri Lanka was conducted during the first Joint meeting of The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) with The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka.

It was held on the 8^th April 1995 at the Consultants Lounge, General Hospital Colombo. The demonstration of various techniques was carried out by the members of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. A modular system was used for the demonstration. The workshop was sponsored by Karl Storz, Germany.

Photographs of the First Laparoscopic Workshop in Sri Lanka – 1995