First brain tumour removal surgery at Gleneagles KK Hospital
KOTA KINABALU: Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital reached a new milestone in its vision to be a leading healthcare centre in Sabah with its first brain tumour removal surgery recently.
The 42-year-old patient sought medical attention at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital when he started vomiting, could not walk, felt numbness in his hand and had slurry speech. He was then discovered with a 7cm tumour on the left side of his brain after an MRI scan was done.
The huge tumour caused severe swelling of the brain which required the patient to undergo an urgent operation. It was completely removed after seven hours of surgery. A CT scan was done post-surgery and there was no residual tumour mass. The patient was discharged seven days after the operation. He can now move on his own and is recovering well.
“The symptoms of a brain tumour can be progressive or sudden. If you experience weakness or numbness of the limbs, slurry speech and vomiting, quickly consult a doctor to check your condition. Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital is one of the few hospitals that is fully equipped and can treat brain tumour-related cases,” said Dr Tan Wei Chean, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Pain Management Specialist and Endoscopic Spine Surgeon at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital and the person behind this successful operation.
The case was co-managed by Dr Chris Chong, resident neurologist at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital, who carried out medical investigations on the patient before referring him to Dr Tan for surgery.
“With a strong team of experienced specialists, state-of-the-art operation theatres and top-notch facilities, Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital can treat complex cases, providing more options for patients, at the same time eliminating additional costs, such as logistics and travelling expenses as most will have to go outside Sabah to get treatment. This also solidifies the hospital’s objective towards becoming a leading private healthcare provider and centre of referrals for local and international patients seeking quality medical care in East Malaysia by providing the best in class clinical outcome and patient experience,” said Jean-Francois Naa, Chief Executive Officer of Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu.
Dr Tan 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) for specialists of General Surgery (2006) and Neurosurgery (2008).
Dr Tan pursued further sub-specialty training and continued to qualify as Specialist of Neurospine (2008), Specialist of Surgical Critical Care (2010) and Specialist in Pain Management (2011). He was the chief of the Neurosurgery Department in Yumin Hospital, Taiwan, before coming back to Malaysia under the Returning Expert Programme in 2017 and joining Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital.