Reconstruction surgery in Abu Dhabi saves 30-year-old woman’s blocked kidney

Abu Dhabi: Despite a blockage in her kidney, doctors at Tawam Hospital were able to save a 30-year-old patient’s vital organ using a minimally invasive procedure.

The woman had been diagnosed with untero-pelvic junction obstruction — a block in the ureter that connects the kidney to the bladder. Urine was not adequately drained to the bladder and this had led to an enlargement of the kidney.

Reconstruction surgery

According to a statement from the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), Abu Dhabi’s public health provider that manages the Al Ain-based hospital, patients who suffer from such kidney blockages are sometimes advised to remove the affected organ. The medical team at Tawam Hospital, however, opted to perform a minimally invasive reconstruction surgery of the kidney.

“Uretero-pelvic junction obstruction is a curable condition. By adopting a minimally invasive approach, we were able to achieve the same outcome as an open procedure. In addition to avoiding much scarring, we were able to successfully resolve the obstruction while leaving the patient with smaller cuts in strategic areas that are less visible. The minimally invasive approach also resulted in reduced hospital stay, an early recovery and reduced pain and complications during and after the surgery,” said Dr Aftab Bhatti, a consultant urologist at Tawam Hospital, who performed the procedure.

Positive outcome

“I had been suffering for quite some time and frustrated that I wasn’t getting clear answers, until I met Dr Bhatti. He and the excellent team at the hospital were able to cure me in the least invasive way,” the patient said.