A young life transformed after laparoscopic surgery at Asiri Central

Being a 15-year-old adolescent girl today comes with its own challenges. Add to this a lifetime of intermittent hospital stays, invasive tests and societal issues as a result of a medical condition.

Her problems began at birth, an abnormality which caused urinary incontinence or the leakage of urine, throughout her entire life. At two years she underwent surgery, however, it proved unsuccessful. 

Dr. Aruna Nandasena, Consultant Urological Surgeon, shed light on her plight: “This girl and the family have gone to several clinics, in major hospitals in the country. Month after month; she gets a fever, and infections, this involved hospital stays for several days to weeks at times causing severe hardship to the family.”

Her life had been a surfeit of embarrassing moments and extreme frustration for herself and her family, as they sought a permanent cure. Their lives had come to a virtual standstill, revolving around her hospital visits and treatment. Attending school became difficult. 

With increased feelings of sadness and loneliness she discontinued schooling after Grade 7 as she encountered severe hardships; the burden of wearing pampers and the stench of urine proving to be unbearable. The girl was almost a recluse.

“You have to experience that feeling, to understand what it is like to be incontinent, wetting yourself, not being able to face anyone. She could not go to school or go outside and play with her friends, instead she stayed home. Psychologically for a young child it was really traumatising. It was also traumatic for the parents and two brothers, because they have been trying for a long time to find a way to sort the problem out,” said Dr. Nandasena.

The family had renewed hope of finding a cure for their child when the parents were directed to Asiri Central Hospital.

Explaining the hospital findings Dr. Nandasena said, “We conducted a thorough investigation and consultation with the patient and the family. We did tests and we found out that she suffered an abnormal birth defect i.e. her right kidney had two tubes draining the kidney, the additional tube had an abnormal opening, over which she has no control, causing continuous leakage.”

“I think one of the main issues was diagnosing the problem. That is why other clinics and doctors had trouble in offering them the correct treatment options,” Dr. Nandasena added.

The girl’s treatment was done combined with Dr. Randima Nanayakkara, Consultant Oncosurgeon and Dr. Damayanthi Senevirathne, Consultant Anaesthetist. Dr. Anuradha Wijewardena, Consultant Genito Urinary Surgeon, Batticaloa Teaching Hospital and Dr. Rajiv Siriwardena, Consultant Radiologist who readily extended all assistance during diagnostic testing.

This new found knowledge gave fresh hope for the girl and her family. With their blessings, laparoscopy surgery, a minimally invasive urologic surgery was successfully performed at Asiri Central Hospital. 

The procedure was done through tiny incisions, two small cuts, each one to one-and-a-half centimetres long, a mere fraction of the size of the incisions used in traditional surgery with equal or superior clinical outcomes and less impact on the child’s body and organs. 

The benefits of minimally invasive urological surgery, especially for young patients are many, including fewer complications, reduced pain, reduced blood loss, less scarring, shorter stay in the hospital and quicker return to normal activities.

“Now no one will know that she has undergone surgery. That is a great advantage to the patient – especially a young girl if she had a big scar that will also affect her psychologically and also cosmetically,” noted Dr. Nandasena. 

The aftermath of the surgery heralded several happy moments for all involved. Her incontinence had totally cleared and for the first time in her life she experienced no leakages and was totally dry.   

“The parent’s perseverance to continue and find a cure for their daughter’s condition should be admired as it also paved the way towards happiness for the entire family,” said Dr. Nandasena

Due to the hospital’s expert diagnosis and superior care Asiri Central have given this family and especially their child renewed hope for the future. “What we offered went smoothly and there was no risk to her life, hardly any blood loss, minimal incisions and she was discharged within two days. Using new technology and minimal risk to the patient, her problem was sorted out and in a very good way – so all in all they were very happy.”

The young girl could not contain her happiness. When asked how she felt, she could not contain her happiness and said, “I feel wonderful, it is very good, all these days it was very terrible but now I feel very good.”

This young lady has her whole future ahead of her but sadly there are many more children and even adults who suffer from similar abnormalities that can be corrected noted the hospital. “People need to be educated, especially in rural areas that medical advice should be sought from reputed centres. We always thoroughly assess the problem and see how best to provide a solution. Many uncomfortable conditions can be cured if correctly diagnosed and handled with expertise rather than endured as a bitter pill of fate.”

(To protect patient/family privacy, names have not been mentioned. All medical details are as reported.)