Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Patients suffering from fistula, which affects seven per 1,000 men in India, do not have to undergo the traditional surgery any longer with the minimally invasive anal fistula treatment (MAFT) being launched here Saturday.

“The technique called MAFT is the first such in entire Asia-Pacific region. The technique is performed for surgical treatment of anal fistulas through a fistulascope,” said Pradeep Chowbey, chief of surgery and allied surgical specialties at Max Hospital, Saket, where the technique was launched.

Fistula, a condition where the anal region witnesses inflammation and formation of pus and tract, occurs mostly in men with symptoms such as pain in the anal region, development of lumps, and discharge also.

MAFT surgery costs around Rs.35-40,000, the same as the traditional surgery.

“The advantage of this surgery is that it is minimally invasive, the fistulascope gives you visuals of the inner tract and makes it easy to operate,” said Percarlo Meinero, chief of proctology at Italy’s Rapallo Lavagna hospital and the one who developed the technique.

Meinoro conducted the first MAFT surgery in 2006.

While the patient can recover in about a week after the MAFT, the chances of recurrence are also less, say experts.

“The advantage is that if the first MAFT surgery fails, you can re-conduct it. Apart from that, chances of recurrence are less as compared to traditional surgery,” said Chowbey.