SRINAGAR: Doctors at Medicare Speciality Hospital, Srinagar, have successfully performed a complex laparoscopic surgery on a 68-year-old man from Ganderbal suffering from a rare congenital condition known as Gastric Duplication Cystic Disease — commonly described as a “double stomach.”
The surgery, the first of its kind in the Kashmir valley, was conducted by Dr Rafiq Simnani, Senior Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeon, who led the team through a meticulous four-hour operation. The condition, present since birth, involves the development of a duplicate diseased stomach connected to the normal one — a phenomenon seen in less than a hundred reported cases worldwide and fewer than ten in India.
According to hospital officials, the patient had been experiencing abdominal pain for nearly three months and was initially treated elsewhere for suspected gallbladder inflammation. When symptoms persisted, he sought consultation at Medicare Hospital, where a CT scan revealed a large cystic swelling measuring approximately 15 centimetres by 20 centimetres, raising suspicion of a gastric duplication cyst. The diagnosis was confirmed during surgery.
Dr Simnani explained that the procedure was performed using four small incisions ranging from five to twenty millimetres. “The duplicate stomach was found to be tightly adhered to the liver, gallbladder, lesser sac, and greater omentum,” he said. “It was carefully dissected free, separated from the normal stomach, and completely removed. The healthy stomach was then repaired.”
He added that the surgery involved minimal blood loss and that the patient was able to walk the next morning before being discharged in good health.
Expressing gratitude to his team, Dr Simnani said, “I thank my entire operation staff at Medicare Hospital, particularly the head of my anaesthetist team, Dr Imran, who showed great patience and perseverance throughout the procedure. Such complex surgeries add to the spectrum and armamentarium of surgical expertise and bring new dimensions to healthcare in our valley.”
