The recent laparascopic removal of a 2.3 kg tumour from the uterus of a 32-year-old unmarried woman by Dr. Rakesh Sinha of Bombay Endoscopy Academy and Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery (BEAMS) has been featured in the Limca Book of Records 2002.

This is the first time in India that a tumour of this size has been removed without conventional surgery.

Endoscopic surgery offers the patient invaluable advantages over conventional surgeries such as single day hospital stay, less postoperative pain, early return to activity and quicker postoperative healing.

Endoscopy is a medical procedure that enables a physician to look at the gastrointestinal or reproductive tract with a flexible instrument called an endoscope. Endoscopic procedures are used to diagnose ailments, to screen for diseases, to remove foreign bodies, and to treat many diseases and conditions.

This achievement gives hope to innumerable women who suffer from fibroids. A fibroid is a round growth of muscle in the wall of the uterus and is always noncancerous. The most common symptoms are heavy menstrual bleeding, pain, pressure and unusually frequent urination. The symptoms generally depend upon the size, location, and number of the fibroids. The complications include infertility, pain and excessive bleeding during periods.

Fibroids are an extremely common problem, with more than 20 per cent of women in the reproductive age group (15 to 55 years) suffering from this condition.

Dr. Sinha said, "I am glad that this challenging surgery went off successfully. I am proud of my team who worked so diligently to bring this landmark success to BEAMS." Almost all fibroids can be removed endoscopically and no woman need go through the trauma of open surgery and removal of the uterus, he noted.

The most common treatment for fibroids is hysterectomy. In terms of numbers, hysterectomy ranks next only Caesarean in the gynaecological surgery section. Close to 1.5 million hysterectomies are performed every year worldwide, of which 30% are to treat fibroids.

Based on the current experience, it is increasingly clear that close to 4,50,000 patients can be treated with keyhole surgery rather than with conventional open surgery.

The relieved patient, Sunita, commented, "I was told that I would have to undergo a hysterectomy, but when I contacted Dr. Sinha he assured me that it could be handled with a keyhole surgery. I am unmarried and you will appreciate the dramatic turn my life would take, should I have lost my uterus, especially in a society like ours."

Recent research suggests that the uterus is a biologically active organ that interacts with other organs such as the ovaries in ways that have yet to be understood completely. Indicative research shows that hysterectomy is associated with lower libido and decreased sexual satisfaction and researchers attribute this to loss of uterine contractions and cervical stimulation. The complications of hysterectomy include depression in nearly half of all patients, as well as urinary incontinence.

The Bombay Endoscopy Academy and Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery is a premier institution that is devoted exclusively to gynaecological endoscopic surgery. Dr. Rakesh Sinha conceptualised BEAMS in 1994 with the sole purpose of providing excellent international standards for the treatment of various gynaecological problems endoscopically.