Sumintra Sundar is one of 25 patients who recently benefited from successful laser treatment for kidney stones at Labasa Hospital. The week-long treatment was provided by a medical team from Friends of Fiji Health (FOFH) based in New Zealand.
The 60-year-old resident of Waidamudamu, Labasa, had been suffering from kidney stones since 2017. As a mother of three, she had been waiting for the opportunity to be treated by an overseas medical team since this type of laser treatment and minimally invasive procedures are not available in Fiji’s public or private hospitals.
Previously, surgeries performed in public hospitals required large incisions, but now, thanks to the support from FOFH, completely internal surgery is available at Labasa. Ms. Sundar was the first person in Fiji to undergo this new procedure, led by team leader Dr. Imran Ali.
Following her surgery, Ms. Sundar was seen enjoying time with her grandchildren and husband, Ram Sundar, and expressed her gratitude: “I am really thankful to FOFH for carrying out my surgery successfully. I was afraid that the doctors might cut me open, but I was really pleased that the procedure involved no cuts at all.”
Dr. Ali expressed pride in being from Fiji and shared in Ms. Sundar’s excitement at being able to provide this procedure to everyday Fijians on behalf of FOFH. Established in July 2010, FOFH is a New Zealand registered charity that aims to form teams of specialists to offer medical treatment to underprivileged communities in Fiji. The team conducted free operations over five days.