Young Expat Undergoes Two Complex Surgeries at Zulekha Hospital Dubai Helping Him Recover from Widespread Cancer

An Indian expat living in Dubai Yousuf, aged 31 was diagnosed?with an intensely spread intestinal malignant mass in the pelvis, spread to the small bowel, the pelvic colon and rectum, urinary bladder and seminal vesicles. He was first diagnosed with this disease in February 2022 and had started on chemotherapy. Due to the intensity of the disease, his pain increased and he experienced constipation, abdominal swelling and pain during urination. After visiting many hospitals he consulted Dr. Sameh Aboamer, Consultant Surgical Oncology at Zulekha Hospital Dubai who evaluated the situation and accepted to operate despite the complexity.

Dr. Sameh says, “Despite the complexity, we were confident we could help him and we went ahead after the family understood the issue and procedures that needed to be done. They have been very co-operative and this is important for a patient’s recovery. In Yusuf’s case multiple procedures extending up to seven to eight hours each including an appendectomy had to be done in two stages. The complexity was high as most of the pelvic organs had been affected by the disease and had to be resected to avoid the recurrence and spread of the disease. This was including resection of the tumor mass with all pelvic organs including the colon, rectum and the small bowel segment. The small bowel cut ends were re-connected and distal lower anal canal cut end was re-joined to the descending colon to ensure undisturbed bowel continuity and function. The procedures also included resection of the seminal vesicles and a urinary bladder posterior wall resection and reconstruction?to ensure normal urinary function during and after recovery. A diversion ileostomy was also done where an opening in the abdominal wall was made, along with an opening of the small bowel segment through it to allow passage of stools and protect the other multiple bowel connections and ensure safe healing. The challenging part of such a complex surgery was to identify and preserve the ureters and dissect the tumor mass from the major pelvic blood vessels, protecting them and avoiding any blood loss.”

These procedures were required because of the intensely huge pelvic mass that spanned the entire pelvic area, entering the small intestinal loops, lower sigmoid, connected to the distal rectum, entering seminal vesicles, damaging the posterior wall of the urinary bladder as well.

Many hospitals which saw Yousuf have rejected operating on him due to its complex nature. The second surgery was done at Zulekha Hospital Dubai two months later to close the ileostomy opening, repair the small intestines and restore the intestinal continuity. Yousuf has now recovered and leading a normal life, taking care of himself.

Dr. Sameh adds, “There is no specific cause for such malignancy, but it is important to be aware of any health problems and seek medical advice with specialists when any abnormality develops, or even when mild symptoms are seen in order to treat this at an early stage when less complex procedures can carry high cure rates. The key is to be aware, detect it early and work towards prevention of such diseases, which can eventually save lives.”

“I highly recommend for all to modify their?lifestyle?in terms of eating healthy food, exercising and adjusting?sleeping habits.”

Resecting and reconstructing multiple organs, ensuring other functionalities were not impacted was in fact very risky, yet the operating team’s expertise, the nursing care, family’s cooperation and trust enabled this successful outcome for Yousuf.

Yousuf and his wife expressed their gratitude to Dr. Sameh and team for giving him a second chance to life. They said that the complexity of the situation was worrying them each day until they met Dr. Sameh and regained hope to recover.

As a best practice the case was also taken up for discussion by a tumor board of expert physicians in Zulekha Hospital Dubai that suggested him to be on a course of chemotherapy to minimize the risk of recurrence. Yousuf was discharged seven days after his surgery and is leading a normal life. He will be on close follow up with clinical examinations and relevant imaging for a while.