Patients suffer as ERCP machine goes out of order at BBH

Patients suffering from issues of bile and pancreatic ducts had to suffer a lot as the Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography (ERCP) machine in the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) went out of order throughout the year 2021.

Doctors use ERCP to diagnose problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts if they expect to treat problems during the procedure. The procedure allows the removal of intestinal stones without having to surgically operate on patients.

It uses a combination of luminal endoscopy and x-ray machines. Patients are charged only Rs600 for the procedure at the BBH as compared to private hospitals which charge from Rs50,000 to Rs70,000 for the same procedure.

According to the dates, during the year 2019-20, 219 ERCP procedures were performed at the BBH. However, due to the malfunctioning of the machine, no procedure could be performed in 2021.

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Compared to an endoscopy, which can potentially be a traumatic treatment, the ERCP has been adopted as an effective alternative. When the Fluoroscope part of the ERCP machine malfunctioned at the hospital, it could not be fixed properly.

The head of the department sent a formal written complaint to the hospital management and several reminders but it fell on deaf ears. Speaking to The Express Tribune, BBH MS Dr Nawaz Khokhar said that the machine would be repaired on a priority basis.

At the BBH’s gastroenterology department most complex diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, oesophagal tract and intestinal procedures are treated. Previously, only endoscopy was available at the hospital.

In 2008 a new test and modern therapeutic RCP was introduced to bring innovation in treating these diseases, and an expensive ERCP machine was installed for this. The technology brought relief to hundreds of patients before the machine went out of order.