Chinese doctors in Ghana successfully treats orphans with umbilical hernias

Published: July 12,2024

The Chinese medical team in Ghana has successfully treated two Ghanaian orphans born with umbilical hernias, earning praise from the local community.

Ding Hui, a surgeon and member of the Chinese medical team, performed the surgeries alongside local medical staff at the Motherly Love Orphanage in LEKMA Hospital, also known as the China-Ghana Friendship Hospital.

An umbilical hernia is a condition where the abdominal wall behind the navel is damaged. “It is just like a small hole in there,” Ding told Xinhua on Friday. “Through the surgery, we repaired the small hole and closed it. We stitched it together, and nothing can come out through there again.”

Ding said that if the affected child is more than two years old, the umbilical hernia can no longer heal on its own. Although umbilical hernias rarely result in serious complications, there is a risk of the lump growing larger when the child laughs, coughs or even relaxes.

The two young patients showed signs of recovery and were discharged on Friday, just two days after the procedure.

Edmond Moukala, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) office in Ghana, praised the Chinese medical team for their kind gesture. He said that UNESCO partnered with the medical team to carry out these interventions because it concerns the health and well-being of infants. “They have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and have many health complications, so it has become a shared responsibility for us,” Moukala said.

Hadiza Mohammed, an official at the Motherly Love Orphanage, expressed gratitude for the timely intervention. “Doing this by ourselves would cost us a huge sum of money. But they have come to our rescue, and everything is successful,” Mohammed said. 

Xinhua