Medical luminaries in the Military Hospital at Narahenpita, belonging to Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC), together with outside medical experts, added one more important chapter to its medical history and recently carried out the hospital’s first kidney transplant on an Army soldier who has been afflicted with a long-standing chronic renal failure.
Regarded as a milestone in its history and recognition of its high medical standards, the surgery for transplant was generously assisted by a team of medical specialists from the National Institute for Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplant (NINDT), including Dr Anura Hewageegana, Consultant Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist at Maligawatte Hospital), Dr R. Cassem, Consultant General Surgeon, (National Hospital Colombo) and Dr K. Umashankar Consultant Urologist and Transplant Surgeon (Maligawatte Hospital) at the invitation of medical experts at the Military Hospital.
Medical Advisor Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe, SLAMC and Commanding Officer at Military Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel S. Tillakaratne, extended their fullest cooperation to the project and facilitated the historic phenomenon.
The anaesthetic team was headed by Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) P.A.C Fernando,Consultant Anaesthetist, Military Hospital, Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) U.L.D. Perera, Consultant Anaesthetist, Military Hospital and Dr. K.A.P Dhammika, Consultant Anaesthetist, NINDT.
The long surgical process took over 6 hours and was well supported by other specialists at Narahenpita Military Hospital including Consultant Physicians, Brigadier (Dr) A.S.M. Wijewardena, Brigadier (Dr) N.K Ariyaratne, Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) K.D. Duminda and Lieutenant Colonel (Dr) H Jayasekara.
The back-up support by the operating theatre staff and staff at the Intensive Care Unit at the Military Hospital was generously available and remained vital for the success of the operation.
The patient, Private R.H. Duminda of 8 Sri Lanka National Guard (SLNG) who has been treated several times in the Dialysis unit of the Military Hospital for his illness was recommended for transplant as the only alternative medical solution, available for his survival, but finding a suitable donor, unrelated to the patient cropped up as a challenging task.
To his luck, in response to an advertisement published by the NINDT, a donor came forward for donation of one of his kidneys, considering the need of the patient.
The married donor, having two babies of six months old and five years old, gave his consent to the transplant, despite possible complications that could crop up later since he claims to remain as a true committed Buddhist who has regularly been in the practice of donating blood in the past few years.
Both the recipient of the kidney and the donor after surgeries that lasted for more than six hours are fast recovering well in the Intensive Care Unit at the Military Hospital and medical authorities maintain that success of the first experimental transplanting at the Military Hospital could facilitate more and more surgeries in the future.
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