ACCRA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A Ghanaian patient with a tumor about 21 centimeters in diameter, a rare case in the West African country, has been cured after a sophisticated surgery by the Chinese medical team in Ghana.
Seth Addokwei Moi, a 66-year-old retired Ghanaian, who suffered pain in his chest for years, recently found it harder and harder to maintain a normal life.
"Anytime I drank water or ate my food, I started feeling the pains. And if I sat down at one place, I felt like I had sat on my stomach," Moi said.
After a checkup, Moi was diagnosed as having a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a condition complicated by the tumor's big size and close attachment to some other organs. Moi turned for help to many local hospitals, only to be told that it was too risky to have it removed.
"I feared for the surgery because I learned the thing is very big. I put my hand there and I felt there was something big, I feared," said Moi.
About two weeks ago, Mahamadu Zakariah, an experienced Ghanaian doctor who works at the China-Ghana Friendship Hospital, learned about the case and brought Moi's CT scan to the Chinese medical team based in the hospital.
"It was beyond my skills," said the Ghanaian doctor, adding that it was not typical cancer they commonly saw.
After rounds of consultation by the medical team, which consists of top-notch doctors from China's Guangdong Province, Moi's hope was reignited as he was told by the Chinese doctors that the tumor was curable.
Yang Tian, a member of the team, told Xinhua that his 16 years of experience as a surgeon in China bolstered his confidence in removing the tumor, and the 3-hour-long operation performed by several Chinese doctors went well with little blood loss.
"The patient recovered well and began eating normally very soon, and hopefully he will be discharged a few days later," said the 41-year-old surgeon.
"I thank all the Chinese doctors who got my life back," said Moi, lying in a ward with the company of his daughter.
Zhuang Shaohui, chief of the team, said that during the past four months, the team has performed a lot of sophisticated surgeries despite many challenges, and the team members have always been committed to saving lives and sharing experience with their Ghanaian counterparts. Enditem
