Over the last three decades the occurrence of gastro intestinal disorders has increased by many folds in India, mainly due to the changes in dietary habits, lifestyle and environmental factors.
In recent years, the food we consume outside contains or added with coloring agents, harmful chemicals, emulsifiers and preservatives. This holds good for packed, tinned and bottled foods. These are toxins once enter into the intestines start damaging Gastro intestinal tract. Hence more and more people have to consult Gastroenterologists.
The most worrying part of these recent changes is that the younger generations and children as small as age five, come to Gastroenterologists with abdominal pain, irritation, acidity and reflux disease says Dr. M.Ganesh, M.B.B.S, M.D, MRCP (UK), CCST gastro (UK), PG Dip Gastro (UK), Chief Gastroenterologist and chairman , SG Gastro Care, Advanced Endoscopy and Gastroenterology Centre, New Sidhapudhur Coimbatore.
Dr.M.Ganesh did his post-graduation in M.D General Medicine from Stanley Medical College, Chennai and recieved MRCP from Royal college of Physicians, London (UK). He also obtained CCST in gastroenterology and Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Gastroenterology (UK) from Salford University, Manchester, UK.
He is the first person in the world to be awarded Post Graduate Diploma in Gastroenterology from Salford University. He has published many national and international articles.
He has worked in Centres of Excellence and as a Consultant Gastroenterologist in Royal Hallamshire University and Teaching Hospital, Sheffield, UK.
He has done around 50,000 endoscopic procedures including complicated therapeutic, diagnostic and advanced endoscopic procedures like ERCP, Endoscopic ultrasound, Therapeutic endoscopy and Capsule endoscopy (very small capsule fitted with small light source and tiny camera which can be swallowed to detect disease in entire gastrointestinal tract). He has successfully diagnosed and have treated many challenging gastrointestinal diseases with his extraordinary endoscopic skills.
SG Gastro care is the largest Day Care Endoscopic and Gastroenterology Centre equipped with state-of-the-art endoscopic gadgets and also adopts cutting edge technology to treat all kind of gastrointestinal diseases. The most modern gadgets have revolutionized not only in diagnosing the gastrointestinal disease early but also help us to treat them through endoscopy without surgery.
It is more accurate, precise, and painless and mostly is daycare.
Proud moments of SG Gastro care:
First in the world to remove a rare small intestinal tumour fully by endoscopy (full thickness resection) without surgery.
Current methods in the endoscopic technique can remove the tumours only upto the first layer in the small intestine, beyond that surgery was the only option. But for the first time, tumour that had penetrated beyond the second layer of the small intestine was entirely removed (full thickness resection). All four layers of small intestine with the tumour was removed only through endoscopic technique (without surgery) at SG Gastrocare by Dr.M.Ganesh.
According to the known published literature in the world, this is the first time that such a procedure done successfully. This is a milestone and a breakthrough in endoscopic treatment. By this technique a major surgery of Six hours and hospital stay was averted.
Along with the above said procedures, Haemorroids (Piles) which is a common problem today can be cured by colonoscopic banding methods at sg gastro care, which has pioneered this technique.
The following procedures are done at SG Gastro Care Centre by Dr.M.Ganesh with the world class standards.
Gastro Intestinal stricture dilatations, controlling bleeding from ulcers and veins, metal mesh stenting in the GI tract to relieve obstructions and narrowing, Argon therapy, electrocautery treatment, banding of bleeding veins (varices), glue injection into bleeding varices, adrenaline injection into ulcers, capsule endoscopy, enteroscopy (small intestinal viewing endoscopy) and endoscopic ultrasound.
Apart from endoscopic techniques SG Gastro Care specializes in treating Inflammatory Bowel disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Intestine is the largest part of the human body. Most of the disease starts from GI tract. It is very important to diagnose intestinal diseases at an early stage to prevent complications.
Inflammatory bowel disease is new disease on the raise in India and also in Coimbatore. Our own immune system acts against our intestines to cause injury, ulcers and damage. This is called auto immune diseases. In a non-medical term, this can be called as “Intestinal asthma”. They are classified as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. People suffering with this disease, will have long standing diarrhea, blood loss in the stools, abdominal pain, loss of weight and appetite with mouth ulcers and joint pain.
Symptoms like continuous joint pain, recurrent redness and irritation of the eyes, painful rashes on the skin can begin even before the onset of diarrhea. Recurrent mouth ulcers and joint pains should not be ignored, because there is a strong connection between the joints and the intestinal disease. They are external indicators of internal damage (Inflammatory bowel disease).
It was presumed that this disease was rare in India. Contrary to this belief, there are lot of patients suffering from such disease in South India, mostly from our own districts Coimbatore and Tirupur.
Dr.Ganesh is a specialist in treating Inflammatory bowel disease. He has treated more than 300 patients suffering from this disease with advanced medications. His research publication about this disease in Coimbatore district was an eye opener. SG Gastro Care is one among the few centres in South India offering holistic care for this type of disease. He has published in national and international journals regarding this disease. He also frequently conducts conferences and medical education programmes for doctors
Reason for the rise of Inflammatory bowel disease in India
Rapid urbanization combined with unhealthy dietary habits like consuming canned / bottled beverages and foods, alcohol, smoking and fast foods predispose to this disease. People working in IT companies and high profile jobs tend to develop such diseases more frequently owing to stress. The immune system gets easily dysregulated by the above factors. Stress in any form, environmental factors, urbanization and following western life style are the main reasons for the rise in incidence of the disease. The more we are urbanized more prone to this disease.
How to detect inflammatory bowel disease? – Diagnosis
Endoscopic examination and newer Narrow Band Imaging has helped in diagnosing this disease early. Blood tests will show raised inflammatory markers like ESR, CRP and anaemia. Complication related to inflammatory bowel disease with intestinal narrowing, polyps and bleeding can be managed now by advanced endoscopic techniques without surgery. Newer technologies like capsule endoscopy to diagnose small intestinal diseases are routinely done in this centre for early diagnosis.
An international conference on Inflammatory Bowel disease was organized by Dr.M.Ganesh, Chairman, SG Gastro Care for medical faternity on 5th August 2018 at Raddison Blu, Coimbatore to spread awareness and also discuss regarding latest endoscopic and medical therapy. More than 100 International and National faculties participated in the conference. This has created a major impact about this new disease. Every year SG Gastro Care conducts national and international conferences to spread awareness about various emerging health issues.
Can this disease be cured?
We can achieve a very good control of this disease by using the newer medicines like infliximab and adaluminab, which are routinely used in this centre for good results. Apart from medicines and endoscopic therapy, yoga, diet modifications and a change of life style will be helpful in achieving complete recovery. The severity and the presentation of the disease varies from patient to patient. Instead of routine treatment customized management of each and every patient is done meticulously in this centre. This is a very unique concept followed at SG Gastro Care Centre.
According to Dr.Ganesh, parents are injudicious about what they choose to feed their children. Overfeeding children with unhealthy food leads only to obesity and intestinal diseases. Fast foods that have added sugar, salt and aerated soft drinks hardly contain nutrition which children love to consume, it contains only harmful chemicals leading to ulcers, cancers and inflammatory bowel disease at younger age.
To conclude Dr.Ganesh advises some of the lifestyle modifications like quit smoking, avoid alcohol use, cut high-fat and acidic foods, eat a high-fiber, healthy diet, particularly yoga practise, regular exercise, less usage of electronic gadgets like computer and mobile phones and practice the life cycle with yoga that aligns with nature without much deviation to prevent GI problems.
For more details, please contact Dr.M.Ganesh, Consultant-Gastroenterologist, SG Gastro Care, No.29, 30, Balaji Nagar, Opp. Ramakrishna Womens College, New Siddapudur, Coimbatore 641004. Ph.: 0422 4356635 / 9790583892. Mail: sggastro@gmail.com
Photos: Balaji Remy