Doctors perform larynx surgery in the North West for the first time
Patients needing larynx surgery in the North West will no longer need to travel to other provinces for medical assistance. This comes after the provincial health department performed its first surgery at the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp.
Previously, doctors had to refer patients needing surgery to other provinces. However under the guidance of ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Glen Monama, the province recorded its first successful operation.
“A patient by the name of Mr Leepile had cancer of the larynx. He was the first patient to have his larynx removed here in the province,” said North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha. “The operation was made successful through the expertise of Dr Monama, a specialist surgeon who joined the department towards the end of 2019.”
The larynx is part of the throat between the base of the tongue and the trachea or wind pipe. It contains the vocal cords, which vibrate and make sound when air is directed. According to the National Health Institute, laryngeal cancer affects the tissue cells of the larynx, and experts say it causes 200,000 deaths globally.
Sambatha explained that the procedure entailed inserting a device which diverts air from the lungs into the pharynx. This is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, bypassing the affected larynx. The patient now needs voice training so that he can could get used to a new way of talking. Still, Mr Leepile remained positive and upbeat throughout his treatment, the department said.
“Although the procedure is used worldwide, it was the first operation of its kind here in North West. Being unable to talk can be very disturbing. We are happy that Mr Leepile did not only get his life back but his voice too,” said Sambatha.
Prevention is still better than cure
Common causes of laryngeal cancer include smoking and alcohol abuse. The MEC says although the department is excited about the ever increasing range of specialist services at Klerksdorp’s Tshepong Hospital, its focus remain on preventative measures.
“Cancer of the larynx is largely a preventable disease because most of the cases are caused by smoking. We encourage people to quit smoking as this will help reduce the number of cases we are seeing,” he said.
“If the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that innovation and flexibility are alive and well in the ENT world”@Voicedoctor_uk serves an introduction to our Nov / Dec edition. Read it here https://t.co/5jv8QTTjUn#entauds #entsurgery #audpeeps #audiology pic.twitter.com/AjRzxzwol3
— ENT & Audiology News (@ENT_AudsNews) November 23, 2020
The department encourages smokers to consult doctors whenever they experience loss of voice lasting two weeks or more.
“Most of the patients seen by our specialists come very late when the cancer is far gone and nothing can be done,” said MEC Sambatha.—Health-e News
Author
Republish this article
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our articles for free under a Creative Commons license. Here’s what you need to know:
You have to credit Health-e News. In the byline, we prefer “Author Name, Publication.” At the top of the text of your story, include a line that reads: “This story was originally published by Health-e News.” You must link the word “Health-e News” to the original URL of the story.
You must include all of the links from our story, including our newsletter sign up link.
If you use canonical metadata, please use the Health-e News URL. For more information about canonical metadata, click here.
You can’t edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. (For example, “yesterday” can be changed to “last week”)
You have no rights to sell, license, syndicate, or otherwise represent yourself as the authorized owner of our material to any third parties. This means that you cannot actively publish or submit our work for syndication to third party platforms or apps like Apple News or Google News. Health-e News understands that publishers cannot fully control when certain third parties automatically summarise or crawl content from publishers’ own sites.
You can’t republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually.
If you share republished stories on social media, we’d appreciate being tagged in your posts. You can find us on Twitter @HealthENews, Instagram @healthenews, and Facebook Health-e News Service.
You can grab HTML code for our stories easily. Click on the Creative Commons logo on our stories. You’ll find it with the other share buttons.
If you have any other questions, contact info@health-e.org.za.
Doctors perform larynx surgery in the North West for the first time
by Nthusang Lefafa, Health-e News
November 25, 2020