Wong (sitting) doing an urological operation on a patient, watched by (from left) Rohan, Lai and Vijayan (standing, right).
SANDAKAN: Some 30 elderly men, who suffer from a condition known as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), benefited from the Urology Carnival held at Duchess of Kent Hospital (HDOK) here recently.
The five-day carnival, which started on September 2 and ends this coming Friday, was one of the initiatives of the collaboration between HDOK and Selayang Hospital, Selangor through their mentor-mentee program.
The carnival, the first of its kind to be held in this state, benefited patients in the Sandakan district, including Kinabatangan, Beluran and Telupid.
BPH is a fairly common ailment in older men aged 60 years and above, and refers to an enlargement of the prostate gland. Treatment options include drug therapy and surgery. For Sabah alone, there is only one urologist based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Kota Kinabalu.
Therefore, this Urology Carnival has benefited patients from around Sandakan as by operating at HDOK, more operations can be performed during the carnival by urologists from Selayang Hospital and QEH.
Meanwhile, senior consultant urologist and head of the Department of Urology, Selayang Hospital, Dato’ Dr Rohan Malek said patients with BPH, who enlisted at the program, were treated with transurethal resection of the prostate (TURP), an urological operation.
“It is performed by visualising the prostate through the urethra and removing tissue by electrocautery or sharp dissection. This procedure is done with spinal or general anaesthetic. A triple lumen catheter is inserted through the urethra to irrigate and drain the bladder after the surgical procedure is completed,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the carnival, he said this treatment is considered the most effective for BPH with excellent recovery from the treatment in 80 to 90 percent of the patients.
Also involved in the Urology Carnival were specialist consultant of urology from QEH, Dr Wong Teck Boon, urology specialist of QEH, Dr Vijayan Manoqran and HDOK resident surgeon Lai Chung Ket.