LUCKNOW, July 13 -- Around 20 surgeries are being delayed daily due to the unavailability of laparoscopy machines in three major district hospitals of the city -- Balrampur Hospital, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital, and Lok Bandhu Raj Narain Hospital (LBRNH), according to health authorities. Laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure used for both diagnosis and treatment of abdominal and pelvic conditions, is currently unavailable at Balrampur and Civil hospitals. Doctors at these facilities are relying on open surgeries, which are more invasive and require longer recovery times, a senior health official said. The footfall of patients at LBRNH, Civil and Balrampur hospitals is around 8,000 per day. Of these, around 250 to 300 patients visit the general surgery OPDs in each hospital per day. However, due to the unavailability of laparoscopy machines at Balrampur and Civil hospitals, some of the patients head to Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) and King George's Medical University (KGMU), while others visit private hospitals for surgeries at a higher cost, the official explained. "We have one old laparoscopy machine and around four laparoscopic gallbladder surgeries are performed in a day. We have raised the demand for a new machine and we will be getting one soon. Procedures like hysterectomy, hernia, appendix can be performed easily once we get the new machine," LBRNH chief medical superintendent (CMS) Dr Rajeev Dixit said. Civil Hospital chief medical superintendent Dr Rajesh Srivastava said they are preparing for laparoscopic surgeries, for which the demand has been raised. Acknowledging the issue, medical superintendent of Balrampur Hospital Dr Himanshu Chaturvedi said the demand has been raised for a laparoscopic machine. "After open surgery, it takes one week for a patient to get discharged from the hospital, whereas laparoscopic procedure helps reduce the hospital stay to 24 hours," Dr Anand Mishra Mishra, general surgeon at Civil Hospital, explained....