First EVAR surgery in Sabah

Visiting consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon Dr Benjamin Leong (third left) performed the first EVAR procedure in Sabah, assisted by Queen Elizabeth 2 hospital in-house general surgeon Dr Krishnan Sriram(third right) and anaesthesiology department head Dr Lily Ng (second left).  

KOTA KINABALU: A senior citizen was able to be scheduled in getting a specialisation blood vessel surgery at a government hospital here within a week of referral from Duchess of Kent hospital in Sandakan.
  The procedure, Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR), was performed for the first time in Sabah by a visiting consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon Dr Benjamin Leong Dak Keung.
  "The 73-year-old patient, who had a 9-centimetre of abdominal aortic aneurysm, underwent the surgery on May 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 (QEH2).
  "I was scheduled to be here during that time and upon receiving the case, the team was ready to do the specialised surgery," said the surgeon, adding that he was assisted by the hospital's in-house general surgeon, medical officer, anesthesiologists and nurses.
   The patient's main blood vessel in the abdominal swells up by more than half of its normal diameter and poses life threatening risk when it ruptures.
   The condition usually affects four to five per cent of population and occurs mostly among elderly men compared to women.
   EVAR is able to fix aneurysm bigger than 5.5 centimetres while reducing the perioperative mortality from 4.7 per cent to 1.7 as compared to open surgery.
  "He had speedy recovery as the candidate was allowed to eat and move around on the same day of operation," Dr Leong added.
  At private setting, the procedure usually costs about RM80,000 but the patient only bore RM33,000 for the stend graft to be used in the surgery.
  While EVAR is commonly being performed by trained vascular surgeons at  peninsular Malaysia, the people of Sabah will have direct access to such service when Dr Leong is posted permanently at HQE2 next month.
  "I hope that my expertise would contribute in providing greater awareness and highest standard for patients in Sabah,".
  Ends.