First UBE spinal surgery at Gleneagles KK
Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital made another headway towards its vision of becoming the leading private healthcare provider in Sabah with its first Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic (UBE) spinal surgery.
KOTA KINABALU: Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital made another headway towards its vision of becoming the leading private healthcare provider in Sabah with its first Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic (UBE) spinal surgery.
UBE is an endoscopic minimally invasive surgery which has wide indications for various types of spinal diseases such as lumbar herniation disc, spinal stenosis and foraminal stenosis.
The patient, Nancy Kulay, a 47year-old mother of four, was born in Miri and is currently living in Kota Kinabalu.
She was diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis and foraminal stenosis. She had low back pain radiating to the right leg and limped when walking.
She has been experiencing this chronic episodic pain sporadically for around 30 years due to injuries sustained when she was a teenager.
Throughout the 30 years, Nancy had been on painkillers and had gone to see many specialists in Miri, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. It was suggested that she undergoes fusion surgery, which she was not agreeable to.
When the back pain became unbearable and she could hardly walk, Nancy was finally referred to Dr Tan Wei Chean, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Pain Management Specialist and Endoscopic Spine Surgeon at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital where she was offered to undergo UBE surgery.
The UBE surgery went successfully with immediate pain relief. Nancy could now walk on her own and did not require painkillers any further as she was devoid of pain.
“Our spine changes as we age, often leading to degenerative conditions of our bone, disc, muscle and ligament. These make up the spinal column. Spinal stenosis occurs when the lower back spinal nerve is compressed, leading to back pain and leg pain when walking.
“Before UBE, endoscopic spinal surgery had limited indication and conventional open surgery was the main solution for most of the diseases.
“The UBE technique has given patients a wide range of advantages not found in conventional spine surgery, including smaller wound, reduced pain, rapid recovery after surgery, less scarring, less damage to the muscle and is widely used in South Korea.
“Nancy is the first patient to undergo this surgery in East Malaysia,” said Dr Tan, who is the first resident neurosurgeon in the private sector in Sabah.
After graduating from China Medical College, Taiwan in 2002, he completed the required training in Chung-Shan Medical University Hospital, Taiwan and was consecutively certified by the National Board (Taiwan) as specialist of General Surgery (2006) and Neurosurgery (2008).
Dr Tan pursued further subspecialty training and continued to qualify as Specialist of Neurospine (2008), Specialist of Surgical Critical Care (2010) and Specialist in Pain Management (2011).
He was chief of the Neurosurgery Department in Yumin Hospital, Taiwan, before coming back to Malaysia under the Returning Expert Programme (REP) in 2017 and joining Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital.
“This new milestone solidifies our objective towards becoming a leading private healthcare provider and centre of referrals for local and international patients seeking quality medical care in East Malaysia.
“With our strong team of experienced specialists with unique expertise, state-of-theart equipment and top-notch facilities, we are providing more options for patients,” said Jean Francois Naa, chief executive officer of Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital.