Rare procedure helps cancer patient recover from illness in Dubai

Dubai - The procedure took six hours and she was kept in the ICU overnight to avoid any complications.

A 64-year-old Algerian expat underwent a rare high-risk Whipple procedure at Zulekha Hospital in Dubai in her journey of cancer recovery, the hospital has said.
Dr Lhamlah Nouacer consulted the hospital after severe upper abdominal and back pain and deep severe jaundice for which she had also undergone an endoscopic stent placement in her home country.
After the initial investigation with Dr Abdelmajeed Mahmoud, specialist gastroenterology, hepatology and GI endoscopy she was seen by Dr Sivaprakash Rathanaswamy, specialist surgical oncologist.
According to the medical history of the patient, she had a severe case of jaundice with obstruction for which a stent was also put in place as the temporary solution three weeks ago. As part of the investigations, Dr Nouacer underwent a CT scan and faced some complications due to high creatinine levels and a single kidney. Being a survivor of uterine cancer since 1991, she had also undergone a major surgery in Germany with radiation that had led to gross swelling on her left leg. She was also diabetic and hypertensive for more than 20 years.
After reviewing endoscopic biopsy slides in Dubai, she was diagnosed with periampullary carcinoma (common bile duct and pancreatic head cancer) with obstructive jaundice, status post stenting. The Whipple procedure was the best suitable treatment for this condition. After assuring Dr Nouacer of a safe experience, the team carried out the surgery at the hospital. The procedure is quite a morbid surgery and involved the removal of a part of the pancreas, bile duct, small bowel and part of the stomach followed by the reconstruction procedure.
The procedure took six hours and she was kept in the ICU overnight to avoid any complications. She was discharged on the seventh day.
The doctor added: "The procedure was successful and the patient also tolerated the procedure well and the pathology was also normal. We are glad that she started walking on the very first day itself with such a good recovery considering the complexity of the procedure. Let's take a minute to commend the patient and her "I will survive" attitude."
Dr Nouacer said: "I was confident that the doctor knew what he had to do to give me a permanent solution. I think that we can all learn a thing or two from this experience, that life may not always throw the best stuff at you but at the end of the day true strength lies in your heart and mind to see past the pain and pursue after the light at the end of the tunnel."
reporters@khaleejtimes.com