Critical prostate cancer case treated in UAE

A critical prostate cancer case was treated successfully through laparoscopic surgery at RAK Hospital.

Ali Mohammad, an Egyptian national working as an engineer in the UAE, visited RAK Hospital with complaints of excessive urination. He was suggested a biopsy and underwent several tests which revealed that he was suffering from prostate cancer. He opted for laparoscopic surgery.

“Prostate cancer can sometimes be asymptomatic, i.e., the usual symptoms of the cancer fail to appear,” says Dr Anup Panigrahi, Senior Specialist at RAK Hospital, and an expert at laparoscopic surgeries.

Dr Panigarhi along with Dr Dinanath Ramachandra Thakar, Senior Consultant, Urology, had operated on Ali. “This is why we went for the routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which measures the level of PSA in blood and immediately arranged for laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. And thanks to our skilled team and cutting-edge medical tools available at RAK Hospital, the patient was comfortably up on his feet the very next day. Unless there is a complication, these operations do not take more than three to five hours to complete. In Ali’s case, it took longer since the prostate was fixed to the rectum and had to be carefully removed”

Dr Panigrahi also strongly recommends that men over the age of 50 should opt for a routine PSA test for early detection since the prevalence is quite high in the UAE.

Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy entails a surgeon inserting a laparoscope (a tiny video camera) inside a small cut, using a thin tube. With the help of a magnified picture, the surgeon is able to remove the prostate gland, adjacent tissue and lymph nodes with minimum impact on nerves and blood vessels. Urethra – a tube for urine passage – is then reattached to the bladder. Another tube, called catheter is also left in the bladder for draining urine, and is removed after a few days.

Commenting on the laparoscopic intervention in the surgery Dr Panigrahi added that the procedure is far more favourable than open surgery since it reduces the associated risks to minimum. “Laparoscopy in experienced hands is far easier than open surgery,” he explained, “For one thing, there is no, or minimum loss of blood. Also, visibility is much better courtesy a magnified picture and there is better control of urine which is a risk factor in such operations. More importantly, the repair – that is, reconnecting of urethra with bladder – is far easier”.

Ali Mohammad said, “I recovered quickly thanks to timely medical intervention, and physical therapy and medication that I was given post-surgery, for which I would like to thank the entire medical team of RAK Hospital.”

According to recent findings, 20 per cent of all cancer cases reported in the UAE is the cancer of the prostate, while many remain undiagnosed, due to lack of awareness regarding the disease. Early detection and immediate action is the key to defeating prostate cancer as was evident in the case of Ali who was successfully treated at RAK Hospital despite complicated surgery.

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