Relief for patients as Kilifi conducts laparoscopic surgery

Kilifi County Referral Hospital conducted its first successful laparoscopic surgery, marking a technological milestone in its healthcare services.

Dr Adrian Park from the Johns Hopkins University in the United States of America (USA), who trained local surgeons on the new technology, led the procedure.

Dr Park said that he conducted computerised camera-applied surgeries that benefited three patients.

Laparoscopy or keyhole surgery is a procedure where small incisions are made on the body unlike the open surgery, where the incision on the skin can be several inches long.
Surgeons insert a laparoscope, a long, thin telescope, into the abdomen through a small incision, Its attached camera projects the abdominal and pelvic organs onto an electronic screen for scrutiny.

Dr Park said the advanced surgical technology also enables patients to recover faster with little or no complications.

“We have performed our first laparoscopic surgeries today, which are minimally invasive, and this represents a new era in surgical technology and techniques available to the good people of Kilifi County,” he said.

He said that more local surgeons will receive training on the new technology and its application before their assignment to Malindi, Mariakani, and Marafa Sub County hospitals.

The Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Health, Peter Mwarogo, noted that the county was procuring laparoscopic machines, worth Sh20 million each for the three hospitals.

Mwarogo explained that the county decided to embrace laparoscopy because patients can undergo surgeries faster, with less pain, and quicker recovery. He emphasized the importance of training local surgeons on the procedure.

“We trained some of our surgeons at the Coast General Hospital (CGH) and today they have performed their first procedures with supervision from Dr Park. We are training more to attach them to our hospitals in Malindi, Mariakani, and Marafa,” he said.

Governor Gideon Mung’aro, who witnessed the procedure, promised to invest in modern surgical technology and other advanced medical procedures to ensure residents access specialized healthcare services.

Mung’aro said that his administration would allocate funds in the next supplementary budget to purchase three laparoscopic machines and ensure the training of nurses and biomedical engineers on handling the equipment.

“We are doing away with open surgery, and our goal is to have open surgery only by cesarean sections. From June, we want to equip all our hospitals, but as we do so, we also want to equip our personnel with the requisite expertise so that we do not purchase equipment that will lie idle because there are no experts to handle them,” he said,” he said.