Health facility in Jinja launches 'keyhole' surgery

Dr Micheal L Marin explains how the newly acquired laparoscopic machine at Kyabirwa Surgical Centre in Jinja City, works. Photo | Phillip Wafula

What you need to know:

  • The innovation means patients don't have to move too far places, especially Kampala, where the procedure is reportedly costly. It is also a departure from the open surgery in which a patient’s stomach is diagonally ripped open and later stitched.

Kyabirwa Surgical Centre in Kyabirwa-Bujagali village, Budondo Ward in Jinja North City has launched laparoscopic surgery, a technique in which short, narrow tubes are inserted into the abdomen through usually less than one centimeter (keyhole) incisions.

The innovation means patients don’t have to move to far places, especially Kampala, where the procedure is reportedly costly; it is also a departure from the open or traditional surgery in which a patient’s stomach is diagonally ripped open and later stitched.

Privately-founded in September 2019 by members of Mount Sinai Health System based in the United States, the facility was constructed in a rural community and is empowered with water, high-speed internet and solar power.
Dr Michael L. Marin, the Surgeon In-Chief at Mount Sinai Health System, said the narrow tubes are fitted with a light and camera so that what is happening inside the patient’s body is seen on the laparoscopic monitor fitted on a tower.

“On that television screen, we see everything inside the human body but never have to open it up; so by making a tiny little hole near the belly, we insert a small camera which sees everything inside,” Dr Marin said.
He added: “If you, say, have appendicitis, you could look through this microscopic camera and see where the inflammation is, insert the vices through a tiny hole and remove the appendix without ever having to cut a hole in the patient’s body.”
Dr Marin said laparoscopy or minimally invasive surgery, as it is sometimes called, can be used to treat gallbladder diseases, appendicitis, problems with the stomach, especially if it is not sitting in the right location.

“In the past few days, we have treated people with gallbladder disease, those whose stomachs were sitting in the wrong part of the body and had to be moved to a new location and also operated a lady who had a large tumor that looked like she was nine months pregnant,” Dr Marin further explained.
He added that every operation is highly subsidized because of donations and philanthropy.
Ms Anna Turumanya Kalumuna, the facility director, said while the laparoscopic machine is available in the country, it is not found in rural hospitals but largely private, urban-based hospitals which run it at millions of shillings.

“For the launch week we charged Shs300,000, but a conclusive pricing plan for the services will be communicated to the public in due course.
“Our interest is those whose health has been compromised and can’t be helped by the current healthcare system. We have a patient who was asked to pay Shs6.5m elsewhere and we did it at ‘a responsibility’ price of Shs300,000,” Ms Kalumuna said.
Dr Joseph Okello, the chief surgeon, said there will be no charge towards recovering the cost of the equipment or paying the surgeon.

“Hernia tops the surgery list of most hospitals in the country and last month, we offered free [hernia] services to the community and the numbers were overwhelming; but with laparoscopic surgery, a good number of patients have been able to go home on the same day,” said Dr Okello.
The launch of laparoscopic surgery comes after tele-surgery or remote surgery was adopted at the facility about a year ago.
Tele-surgery is the ability for a doctor to participate in a surgery when they are not physically in the same location.

About the facility
The centre was founded to improve a long-standing stereotype that much-needed surgery is expensive and only available for the rich.
The project is therefore to demonstrate that everyone who deserves surgical care can obtain it safely and affordably. The anticipation is to provide between 65 percent and 75 percent of the community’s surgical needs.