Delegates from around the world attended a masterclass for surgeons in The Ark Conference Centre at Basingstoke hospital. The international event for surgeons treating incontinence and prolapse was organised and hosted by Mr Christian Phillips, a consultant gynaecologist at Basingstoke.
The hi-tech event saw surgery being performed live in the operating theatre and transmitted to the audience sitting in The Ark’s Squire lecture theatre. Consultants performing the surgery included surgeons from Basingstoke with expertise in treating incontinence and prolapse as well as visiting surgeons from Southampton, Poole and Adenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge.

Delegates attending included consultant surgeons from the UK and Europe but some travelled from as far afield as Greece and Israel to learn the latest techniques. They were taught ground-breaking new ways of treating prolapse and incontinence, including new technologies in vaginal reconstruction, new ways to perform major surgery while the patient is still awake, and the latest in keyhole procedures to treat patients suffering from prolapse or bowel problems. They also watched Mr Phillips working together with Mr Arcot Venkat, who specialises in colorectal surgery.

Mr Phillips said: “As a district hospital, we’re really punching above our weight in terms of what we are able to do surgically. “Women, who before would not have been able to have an operation because they were too ill to be given general anaesthetic, can now be operated on under local anaesthetic. Through new techniques, we’ve also been able to reduce the amount of time people have to take off work following keyhole surgery, which is vital in these cash-strapped times. I’m hoping to make this masterclass an annual event from now on. It was a great success, and it is so important to share techniques with colleagues from around the world.”

By Helen Morton - Basingstoke Gazette