KUALA LUMPUR: Donations collected from kind Malaysian donors have enabled a 10-month-old Rohingya boy with hydrocephalus to undergo a surgery last Monday.
The infant, Mohamad Yasin Mohammed Rafique suffers from hydrocephalus, where the cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain, causing the head to swell.
He successfully underwent ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgery at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) last Monday, to implant a shunt, or a small tube, that divert the fluid from the brain ventricles, where the fluid is stored, down to the abdomen where it is absorbed.
HKL deputy head and senior consultant neurosurgeon Dr Azmi Alias, who perform the operation said the surgery went well and the procedure proceeded smoothly.
“There was no complications during surgery. The shunt implanted goes beneath the skin, neck, chest and ended inside the peritoneal cavity in the abdomen.
“This emulates a normal circulation process where the fluid in the brain will be absorbed and go back into the system (bloodstream), the venal system and back to the heart... and the heart then pushes it back to the brain,” Dr Azmi told NST Online.
After surgery, Yasin's head has shrunken to a circumference of 72cm from 75cm, which is about the size of a basketball.
He said Yasin was showing positive improvement in terms of physical alertness after the surgery, adding that the boy was more active as the head is now less stretched and expanded.
Dr Azmi said the surgery was palliative as Yasin suffered from congenital hydrocephalus in which the brain’s development was already abnormal since birth.
“This is the severe form of hydrocephalus, in medical term is hydranencephaly. In another word, damage (to the brain) had been done and surgery is unable to reverse the damage.
“The treatment available is to slow down the rate of growth of the head. The size of his head can't be further reduced because it has already enlarged,” he said.
He said Yasin could die if his condition had not been treated.
“Without treatment, his head will further compress and grow larger. When the brainstem is affected, he will die,” he said.
Dr Azmi said Yasin will be discharged tomorrow after suture removal and is being monitored for signs and symptoms of infection.
Apart from that, he said Yasin had developed associated problems due to the abnormal size of his head.
“He has multiple pressure ulcers on his on the right and left side of his head because the head is heavy and always in a lying position. By dressing, the ulcers should be resolved. If infections occur, re-surgery might be needed.
“His head has to be turned every two hours. Thus, the most important thing is to teach his parents how to take care of him in positioning, feeding, and recognising the signs of infection." he said.
Meanwhile, Persatuan Pesakit Hydrocephalus Malaysia chairman Azah Hana Ahmad Azahari said she had referred Yasin’s case to the Social Welfare Department.
“Hydrocephalus children need to consume formulated milk complete with nutritious needed which costs RM150 per tin. Apart from this, foods such as puree or porridge cooked with vegetables and other healthy foods are recommended,” she said.
Malaysians came together to raise fund for Yasin after the NST Online wrote about him two weeks ago.
A HKL spokesperson said the total cost of surgery and follow-up treatment for a year had been funded by a group of donors.
keywords: Rohingya boy, hydrocephalus, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, surgery, Mohamad Yasin Mohammed Rafique, shunt surgery