Chinese Medical Team partner with Local Colleagues for Nation’s First Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty
Recently, at the Comprehensive Medical Center of National Referral Hospital in Solomon Islands, Dr. Zhang Faming, urologist from the 5th China Medical Team, working with local urologist Dr. Melly, has successfully performed laparoscopic left pyeloplasty on a 54-year-old male patient. As the first case of its kind in Solomon Islands, this milestone operation marks a major breakthrough in China-Solomon Islands medical cooperation in minimally invasive urological reconstruction.
The patient presented with left waist discomfort two months ago and was diagnosed with left hydronephrosis. He received left double-J stent insertion, and intraoperative ureteroscopy confirmed ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). Physical examination showed positive left renal tenderness. CT scan revealed severe left pelvicalyceal dilatation and significant stricture at the ureteropelvic junction. After comprehensive evaluation, the diagnosis of left UPJO was confirmed with clear surgical indications.
Dr. Zhang Faming, Nurse Xie Guofeng and Dr. Melly carried out the operation smoothly under general anesthesia. The procedure involved precise resection of the strictured segment and meticulous pyeloureteral anastomosis, featuring minimal trauma, less bleeding and clear visualization.
The patient recovered well postoperatively with stable vital signs, mild pain and no complications. He was discharged in good condition on the 8th postoperative day, with significant improvement in renal function and urination. The patient and his family expressed high satisfaction with the treatment outcome.
Laparoscopic pyeloplasty is recognized as the gold-standard minimally invasive procedure for UPJO worldwide, with advantages of less trauma, faster recovery, shorter hospital stay and effective renal protection.
During the operation, Dr. Zhang Faming provided full-process hands-on training and technical guidance to local clinicians, systematically transferring key skills of laparoscopic surgery and perioperative management to help improve the independent clinical capacity of Solomon Islands’ urological team.
The 5th CMT leader Dr. Chu Liangzhao stated that in recent years, leveraging the China-Solomon Islands Urological Minimally Invasive Surgery Center as a platform, the CMT has worked closely with local medical staff to provide medical care and deliver clinical training, which has helped advance local minimally invasive surgical techniques to higher precision and more complex procedures. Starting from successful treatment of ureteral calculi in a 3-year-old child, the team has gradually undertaken high-difficulty operations, including laparoscopic pyeloplasty and laparoscopic radical nephrectomy. With persistent efforts of Chinese medical teams, complex urological conditions can now be managed locally, allowing an increasing number of patients to benefit from China-Solomon Islands medical cooperation.