One patient was the beneficiary of a life-saving surgical procedure as a result of the recent laparoscopic training conducted at the Victoria Hospital.

Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure in which a fiber-optic instrument in inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen or to permit surgical procedures. Flavia Florence, a resident from Micoud had been suffering from an enormous tumor in her abdomen which caused discomfort and internal bleeding. Her son-in-law, Benoit Michel, said he was extremely pleased with the outcome of the surgery and the care and attention Florence received at the Victoria Hospital.

“I am pleased, happy, and pleasantly surprised,” he said. “When we found out about the tumor we were very worried. We didn’t know what to expect and there are a lot of horror stories from persons having tumors and operations. After meeting Dr. Kabiye and speaking with him, and having him explain the procedure, and also because of the episodes that she had we knew that she needed the surgery as quickly as possible.”

Four days after her operation, Ms. Florence was in high spirits and ready to be discharged. She expressed gratitude to the doctors for performing the life-saving procedure.

“I felt very strong before I went to surgery, because I wanted to go for the surgery, and I asked God to help give me the strength and the courage so that I could go through it.”

The breadfruit-sized tumor was removed during the operation by Dr. Dawit Kabiye, Consultant Surgeon and Head of the Surgical Department at the Victoria Hospital.

“Her recovery has been really remarkable. Blood loss has been very minimal and her pain level is very low. The patient is already drinking and taking in fluids. It has been an eventful outcome compared to an open surgery—which is completely opening the abdomen to be able to remove the tumor. This had no major cuts. Basically, to remove the tumor or the mass is where you do the small cut.”

Dr. Kabiye is hopeful for greater investment in laparoscopic equipment which is capable of performing many types of surgical procedures through keyhole surgery. He said the benefits to the patient and hospital are significant.