Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

SHENZHEN doctors, who represent the 33rd Chinese medical team sent to assist Equatorial Guinea, have wowed patients and doctors in a local hospital with the quick recovery of a young patient after a laparoscopic surgery.

The 14-year-old Equatorial Guinean boy named Benjamin breezed out of the ward with his father after packing his bags Saturday. However, just a day prior, the boy could hardly straighten up due to an inguinal hernia, or a protrusion of the small bowel through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles, and was wheeled into the hospital for treatment.

Benjamin had been tormented by recurrent abdominal pain for almost two years. He sought medical treatment at the Regional Hospital of Malabo as he had suffered from more pronounced and frequent pain recently, and the bulge in his abdomen had become increasingly prominent.

Benjamin was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia by Liu Anwen, a member of the Shenzhen medical team in Equatorial Guinea, who advised him to undergo a surgery as soon as possible.

But within three days, he was sent to the hospital again, in an even worse situation, after local traditional heated herbs were applied to the area, according to Tian Huaigu, leader of the Shenzhen medical team.

Liu decided to perform a laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair surgery for Benjamin as soon as possible.

However, the Shenzhen medical team faced three big challenges. Firstly, there was a shortage of anesthetic drugs. Secondly, local medical staff were not familiar with laparoscopic surgery. Thirdly, with the help of a Spanish interpreter, the team needed to make good use of this opportunity to provide clinical guidance to local doctors who have already participated in laparoscopic simulation operations.

The medical team members donated to help Benjamin raise funds to cover the surgical expenses and purchased anesthesia drugs that were available on the market, according to Tian.

The surgery Friday was successful due to the medical team’s joint efforts. On Saturday morning, the surgical doctors visited Benjamin to assess his wound and recovery. Liu told Benjamin’s father Juan that Benjamin could be discharged from the hospital and return to school normally Monday.

Juan was so excited that he raised his thumb and said, “Médicos chinos son muy buenos! Muchas gracias!” [Chinese doctors are great. Thank you very much!]

“Another surgeon from the local hospital also said that he was astonished to see a patient who has undergone a laparoscopic surgery recover so quickly,” Tian said.

According to Tian, the surgery was the first laparoscopic surgery carried out by the 33rd Chinese medical team sent to assist Equatorial Guinea and the seventh such surgery carried out by Chinese medical teams in the country.