BY HAJI NASSOR, PEMBA:::::::
OCTOBER 25,
2021 was a memorable day for Dr. Wang Juan, an obstetrician and gynecologist at
the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and a member of the Chinese
Medical Team in Zanzibar.
She had
barely worked at Abdulla Mzee Hospital on the Pemba Island for one month when
she encountered acomplicated case.
Although she
had an experience on the case before her arrival on the islands, she was still
shocked by the complexity of the illness of her patient, a 21-year-old mother
from Matele Chake Chake.
The patient
had been leaking urine for nearly seven months with a foul smell which made her
so embarrassed that she always remained in her house.
According to
the Assistant Director of Abdulla Mzee Hospital and Head of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Dr. Aboud, the patient had delivered a healthy child by cesarean
section five years ago. Seven months ago she expected her second child with a
great joy but the baby died during childbirth due to shoulder dystocia.
The patient
suffered from sequelae of a large vesicovaginal fistula with an area of 4 cm2
due to bladder rupture during childbirth, which caused great psychological and
physical trauma to the patient, making her even more sad.
With all her
clinical experience, Dr. Aboud felt it a great challenge for her due to the
complexity of the case and the patient’s history of a failed repair surgery. He
consulted the Chinese Medical Team for help.
After
receiving the case report, the Chinese Medical Team held consultation and
discussion and formulated a detailed surgical plan. The team reported the case
to the Chinese Consulate General in Zanzibar and the Foreign Cooperation and
Exchange Office of Jiangsu Health Commission.
After
getting unanimous consent and support, Dr. Li Hualei and Dr. Liu Donghua, the
two consultants at the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, were
dispatched from Unguja to the Pemba Island to attend the case.
Joint surgery
To
effectively treat the patient, the medical team set up a multi-disciplinary
group of diagnosis and treatment consisting of Dr. Li Hualei, the urologist,
Dr. Wang Juan, the obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Yin Jun, the general
surgeon, Dr. Shan Xisheng, the anesthetist, Dr. Liu Donghua, the acupuncturist,
Dr. Wang Haipeng, the cardiologist, and Dr. Ye Aihua, the radiologist.
Dr. Wang
Haipeng and Dr. Ye Aihua were mainly responsible for the preoperative
assessment, Dr. Shan Xisheng monitored the patient during the operation, Dr. Li
Hualei, Dr. Wang Juan and Dr. Yin Jun performed the the operation while Dr. Liu
Donghua developed the patient's postoperative rehabilitation treatment plan.
Dr. Li
Hualei, the urological surgeon, has years of rich clinical experience and
unique insights in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary fistula. Before the
operation, he joined the case discussions within the team and virtually
discussed the treatment plan with a number of urology experts back in China.
Due to
inadequate medical resources in Pemba, he made a simple cystoscope with Dr.
Chen Hongsheng, consultant of Anesthesiology, through repeated experiments,
using visual light sticks brought from China.
On October
17, 2021, Dr. Li Hualei and Dr. Liu Donghua performed the joint surgery in
cooperation with doctors from departments of urology, obstetrics and
gynecology, and anesthesiology in the presence of the local doctors who were
there to observe the procedure of a rare and complex case.
Complex operation
The
operation was difficult as the patient’s obesity made it difficult to provide
enough vision for surgery; it was hard to separate the scar adhesion, and the
fistula opening was too large and too close to the bilateral ureters for the
safe suture of the bladder fistula. Dr. Li Hualei, Dr. Wang Juan and Dr. Yin
Jun overcame all the difficulties through close operation and finished the
repair within 5 hours.
The bladder
then was observed with a self-made cystoscope and the bilateral ureteral
openings were confirmed to be normal. Methylene blue staining test showed no
vaginal blue stain. The operation was a great success.
Postoperative care
Fistula
repair alone is not enough. Good post operative care is as important as a
perfect repair for a quick recovery. The next morning, Dr. Wang Juan, Dr. Li
Hualei and Dr. Liu Donghua visited their patient in the ward.
The
examination showed a most desired condition: the patient's urine was clear,
abdominal incision dry, and no urine leakage in vagina. Follow-up treatment
suggestions were made to the ward staff.
Dr. Liu
Donghua formulated a plan for preventing postoperative abdominal distension and
rapid functional recovery from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The
combination of Traditional Chinese and western medicine was expected to secure
a quick recovery. Seeing the smile on the patient’s face, Hospital’s Assistant
Director Dr.Aboud commended and congratulated the Chinese Medical doctors for
the successful operation.
What the doctors say
According to
Dr. Li Hualei, urinary fistula is the formation of abnormal channels between
the reproductive tract and the urinary tract in which urine is discharged from
the vagina but hard to be controlled.
Obstetric
injury is the main cause of urinary fistula, which often occurs in areas with
backward medical conditions and seriously affects women's quality of life.
A fistula of
the size of a patient who had undergone operation at Abdalla Mzee Hospital was
very rare in clinic. The success of the operation resulted not only from the
adequate preoperative preparation and the close cooperation of
multidisciplinary experts, but also from the sincere cooperation within the
China Medical Team.
The patient talks
The patient
told the Zanzibar Mail that was her third pregnancy as the last two deliveries
were also done by operation.
She said she
expected operation in her third delivery but when she reported at the hospital
a local doctor convincingly told her that she would deliver without undergoing
operation.
END
Comments
Post a Comment