Dubai: A team of surgeons at Dubai Hospital conducted a life-saving surgery, successfully removing a cancerous tumour from a patient’s throat.
The Nigerian patient, in his sixties, had a tumour of the larynx that was blocking his airway and causing difficulty in breathing and swallowing.
The patient, who was a medical tourist, had visited many hospitals only to be turned away as the surgery was highly complicated and demanded great precision.
Doctors from Dubai Hospital’s Head and Neck Surgery division, ENT department, conducted the surgery under general anaesthesia, removing the patient’s entire larynx, parts of the pharynx, and sections of the thyroid glands and neck muscles, in a major surgery that took four hours to complete.
The patient will be required to undergo radiation sessions following the surgery and will attend periodic check-ups for the next five years to make sure that the tumour does not return.
Doctors from the Head and Neck Surgery division at Dubai Hospital said the surgery — conducted in collaboration with other concerned departments, such as anaesthesia, nursing and radiation — was completely successful.
They added that the patient was able to eat and drink 10 days after the surgery.
The doctors revealed that it was the second time such a procedure was carried out as Dubai hospital had received a similar case two years ago and experts performed the surgery on an Emirati patient who was also suffering from larynx cancer.
The doctors, who said the main cause of cancer of the larynx was smoking and liquor consumption, also emphasised that conducting such surgeries reflected the competitive capabilities of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and the notable continuous advancements and developments witnessed in the health field in Dubai.
