First UMS-QEH workshop on RM1.5 mln ERCP
KOTA KINABALU: The first Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatogram (ERCP) workshop was coorganized between Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 (QEH) on April 21 to 22.
The event was first mooted by the Head of Department of Surgical Based Department Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) UMS, Dr Nik Amin Nik Lah and received wonderful support from QEH and various endoscopic suppliers such as Olympus, Cook’s Medical, Boston, Medilife & Indizium Sdn Bhd.
FMHS Deputy Dean of Students’ Affairs and Alumni Dr Yeap Boon Tat said ERCP is one of the main diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for certain hepatobiliary problems such as obstructive jaundice involving a tumour or stones in the gall bladder.
“The procedure is not easy to be done and involves collaborations from various parties such as radiologists, anaesthetists and various supporting staff to ensure patient safety and successful treatment. Thus acquiring, sharing and learning the skills of doing an ERCP should be continuous.
“I applaud the Gatroenterology Unit QEH led by Datuk Dr Raman Muthukaruppan, Surgical team from FMHS UMS and QEH led by Datin Dr Rohamini Sibin for this wonderful effort. I am very sure that this will be an important stepping stone for Hospital UMS (HUMS) to shine as a hub for excellence in hepatobiliary by its establishment by 2021,” he said.
The two-day event saw the participation of renowned Sabah gastroenterologists - Dr Raman and Dr Nagaraj Sriram from QEH, and surgeons Dr Rohamini, Dr Chuah Jitt Aun (Head of Sabah Surgeons) and Mohd Sharifudin Sharif (Consultant Hepatobiliary Surgeon Gleneagles Hospital, Sabah), three speakers from KSKB Bukit Padang, several general surgeons from Hospital Sandakan and Tawau, trained nurses and 20 medical students.
They shared their experiences and exchanged knowledge on managing ERCP by having the hands on session on a RM1.5 million state of the art ERCP simulator in FMHS UMS and patients in QEH on the second day of event.
“This event is a success and we are thankful to UMS Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr D. Kamaruddin D. Mudin and FMHS Dean for their wonderful support for my department to co-organise this first UMS-QEH ERCP Workshop. We hope to organize a similar event next year – perhaps to a greater scale to involve Sarawak and Brunei,” Dr Nik Amin.