Surgeons at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare have conducted
a world record operation after successfully removing a 12,3 kilogrammes
11-year-old kidney cyst from a patient, a feat that speaks volumes of the
country’s medical expertise and services.
The cyst becomes the largest to be removed in the world,
with the previous record in Japan where a similar one weighing 11,5kgs was
removed.
The complicated surgical procedure was conducted by a team
of local doctors led by Consultant Urologist, Mr Shingirai Meki, who is also a
lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe’s College of Health Sciences.
If sourced outside the country, the procedure costs upwards
of US$11 000 but it was performed for ZW$2 000.
Addressing members of the media at the hospital yesterday,
the institution’s Clinical Director, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, urged Zimbabweans
to have faith in the country’s public health delivery system saying it has
competent medical professionals that are able to carry out most of the services
sourced externally.
“We encourage members of the public suffering from various
ailments to seek medical attention at our health institutions because we still
have the experts who can provide such services,” he said.
The sentiments were shared by the head of the medical
operating team, Mr Meki, who said with enough support, most such services could
be accessed locally thereby cutting on foreign medical tourism.
“Members of the
public should be assured that most surgeries like these can be done at public
hospitals.
We are very much able to deliver quality health care to our
patients in a public setting and at affordable fees,” he said.
Mr Meki said it was important for patients to have
confidence in their public health system which is cheaper compared to seeking
services ouside the country.
Speaking at the same occasion, the patient, Mrs Milka
Gwatiringa, said she once sought services from South Africa as she doubted the
competency of the local institutions.
She blamed the media for concentrating on negative coverage
of the health delivery system saying at times the media discourages patients
from seeking help locally.
“After getting assurance from peers and friends, I came to
Parirenyatwa and here I am, the 11-year-old tumor has been removed,” she said.
This is not the first time the country’s public health
system has broken medical records.
In 2014 at Harare Hospital, a 50-member medical team
successfully performed the first major operation to separate Siamese twins who
were co-joined from the lower chest to the upper abdomen and shared a liver.
Herald
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