Twenty-five children undergo reconstructive surgery

Kumasi, Nov 5, GNA - Twenty-five children with abnormalities on their sexual organs from birth underwent surgical operations to have the defects corrected at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

A team of four surgeons including Paediatric Urologists of the International Volunteers on Urology, performed the operations with assistance from KATH surgeons on Hermaphrodite (children having both sexual organs) defects of the bladder and the urethral valve, which led to retention of urine and other urinary problems.

The successful operation of the team from Utah University in the United States of America currently on a visit to the hospital, comes as a big relief to parents who have had to wait for more than four years to have their children's defects corrected since KATH performed such operations only once a week.

A parent said: "We cannot express our joy now that the problems of our children have been solved, because apart from living with such a stigma that comes with striping your child naked in public to piss, most of us also feared our children would never be able to have children in future".

The team led by Dr Catherine De Vries, donated two units of surgical equipment and other materials valued at about 7,000 dollars to the hospital to facilitate surgery and held capacity training workshop for a section of surgeons at KATH.

Presenting the equipment, which included one Diagnostic Vascular system, a blood scanner devices and a bladder manager, Dr De Vries expressed satisfaction about the theatre and recovery processes of the hospital and hoped that the machines would be put to maximum use. Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Chief Executive of the Hospital, thanked the donors for the gesture.

He said the collaboration between the Hospital and the University of Utah, which started last year was yielding positive results. Professor Peter Donkor, Head of the Department of surgery, KATH, thanked the doctors and other staff of the hospital for contributing to the success of the exercise.

Dr Ken Aboah, a Consultant Urologist of the Hospital, said the diagnostic vascular device was a great asset to the hospital. He said it helped to diagnose testicular tortion, a condition he described as very critical but could not be easily diagnosed without the device, which the hospital did not initially have.