The file photo shows a Chinese doctor (R) from the Chinese medical team in Ghana operating surgery on a Ghanaian patient in LEKMA Hospital in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ghana has rescued a female patient with a rare ovarian cyst as long as 12 centimeters in diameter.
ACCRA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ghana has rescued a female patient with a rare ovarian cyst as long as 12 centimeters in diameter, the team told Xinhua over the weekend.
According to the team, the patient, 24, has been suffering from a giant ovarian cyst for a while, which could be deadly if it bursts or goes cancerous.
"We immediately decided to perform laparoscopic surgery on the patient," said Zuo Fan, the gynecologist of the medical team, noting that the giant ovarian cyst was finally removed after a two-hour surgery on Friday with the help of his Ghanaian counterparts.
The file photo shows Chinese doctors and Ghanaian counterparts performing laparoscopic surgery in LEKMA Hospital in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on June 29, 2022. (Xinhua)
Zuo noted that LEKMA Hospital, where the team is based, had long been unable to bring in laparoscopic surgeries because of a lack of relevant equipment and proper training staff. But thanks to the efforts of the previous medical team in Ghana, the hospital has been able to perform such surgeries on a regular basis since last year.
"We have been trying to train local medical staff to grasp the approach and maintain the equipment, and hopefully, they will be able to perform such surgeries independently in the future," Zuo added.
In Ghana, many patients struggling under the poverty line normally find it difficult to afford the cost of medical care. In light of that, the Chinese community in Ghana, together with the previous medical team, set up a charity program last year to provide financial support to local patients who undergo laparoscopic surgeries in the hospital.
"The patient was more than excited after she learned some part of her medical bills would be covered by us, and now she is recovering well," Zuo told Xinhua.
The 12th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ghana comprises 11 top-notch specialists from China's Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital and began their mission in Ghana in March. ■
