Sumintra Sundar was among 25 patients who recently benefited from a successful laser treatment for kidney stones at Labasa Hospital. This innovative week-long treatment was carried out by a medical team from Friends of Fiji Health (FOFH) from New Zealand.
At 60 years old, Sundar, a resident of Waidamudamu, Labasa, had been dealing with kidney stones since 2017. She had been awaiting treatment from an overseas medical team since such procedures utilizing laser and minimally invasive flexible telescopic cameras were unavailable in both public and private hospitals in Fiji.
Previously, surgery for kidney stones in public hospitals required larger incisions, but the recent advancement made possible by FOFH allowed for completely internal surgery at Labasa.
Sundar was the first patient in Fiji to undergo this procedure, performed by Dr. Imran Ali, the team leader. Following her surgery, she was seen happily spending time with her grandchildren and husband, Ram Sundar, at home. “I am really thankful to FOFH for successfully carrying out my surgery,” Sundar expressed. “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 stated that he was proud to be able to offer this procedure to fellow Fijians on behalf of FOFH. Established in July 2010, FOFH is a New Zealand registered charity that aims to assemble teams of specialists to provide medical care to underserved communities in Fiji. Over the course of five days, the team conducted free operations for the patients.