By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Head of Urology Unit at Mubarak Hospital Prof Adel Al-Hunayan said that more than 100 surgeries to remove kidney stones sized over 2 cm in diameter were conducted at the hospital during the past three years by using kidney laparoscope in the modern adjusted horizontal position.

Hunayan said all patients recovered well, adding that Kuwaiti doctors are currently being trained on this technique in the presence of experts to contribute to providing the most modern care procedures and advanced treatment techniques that are on par with international developments in the field of laparoscopy.

He said kidney laparoscopy at Mubarak Hospital began in the 1980s by Swedish consultants at the time, adding that the procedure was being done in two stages: a renal tube is inserted by intervention radiology the night before the procedure, then on the day of the procedure, the tube passage is widened so the laparoscope can be inserted.

He said this procedure was stopped during the 1990/91 Iraqi Invasion, before it was brought back at the end of 2005 by Dr Khalil Al-Awadhi. During the procedure, the patient is placed with his face down, he said, adding that this is a big challenge for the patient and doctor especially in cases of overweight patients or those with heart problems.

This changed in 2017, when Dr Hunayan perform an operation while the patient was laying horizontally on his back, enabling doctors to carry out renal, bladder and ureter laparoscopies at the same time. "The new procedure reduces time and guarantees removal of most stones with little to no complications," he added.