Linden Hospital performs first prostate surgery

May 19, 2018 News

A 68-year-old Linden man, became the first patient at the state of the art Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) to benefit from a prostate surgery. It was the first for the institution.
The procedure was performed on Wednesday by Urologist, Dr Brian Niles, who is attached to the hospital.
According to the doctor, the patient had been experiencing problems with urination which resulted in extreme pain. He had been living with the condition for several years, Dr Niles said.
According to Dr Niles, the patient had a tremendously enlarged prostate. He had developed multiple bladder stones that were formed because of his inability to properly empty his bladder.
“This leads to a chemical type condition that predisposes to crystals being formed. Over many years, those crystals would eventually grow and form stones.
“He had two massive stones and a massively enlarged prostate…I am sure it’s one of the biggest that I’ve ever done. The normal size of the prostate is about 30 to 40 grams; his was about 275 grams.”
Dr. Niles said that the procedure done is known as an open prostatectomy and cystolithectomy. An incision is made below the navel, then the surgeon enters the bladder and removes the bladder stones. The process is called sistolotectomy. Once the stones are removed, you deal with the prostate, which is called an open prostatectomy.
“What we do is that we don’t remove the entire prostate because it is not a cancerous type situation. We enucleate with our hands the portion of the prostate that is blocking the person’s urinary tract.”
Dr. Niles said that once the prostate is removed in that manner, bleeding is controlled, and a Foley catheter is inserted to drain the urine and the blood. It also closes the bladder.
He added that the patient is doing very well and should be able to go home in another week.
Dr. Niles said that he was very excited about this “type of development’ for the Linden community. He added that he felt very confident that a lot could be done for residents, as far as urology goes.
“Our resources might not be perfect but we make use of what we have. I think that with the continued support from Dr. Riyastat and the Hospital Administration and the Ministry of Health with Dr. Cummings and Dr. Shako, I feel very confident that we would be able to provide as high a level of service or even higher than what we may even see in Georgetown.”
All aspects of urology are now being dealt with at the hospital, Dr. Niles said.

He added that soon more equipment would become available to do more endoscopic or minimally invasive work, where less open surgery would be performed and more none invasive type therapies that are just as effective would be done.
Exponential growth
According to Dr. Niles, the LHC has seen exponential growth of patronage of the urology services since it was introduced last November.
However, he said that Wednesday’s operation was the first major prostate surgery to be done at the facility.
He observed that based on the response so far, it is obvious that a urologist was much needed here in the community.
According to Dr. Niles, in the past referrals for specialist urology treatment had been primarily to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
As such bringing this service to Linden, and by extension Region Ten, was a good thing, he said.
Public Relations Officer of the LHC, Tashana Allicock, said, “This is a significant achievement for the Linden Hospital Complex. We are pleased to be able to successfully complete such a crucial surgery right here in Linden.
The urology clinic has seen tremendous growth since its commencement. We are urging all persons who suffer from prostate disease, stone disease, sexual dysfunction, male infertility etc to consult with our Urologist, Dr Brian Niles, during the second week of every month at the Outpatients Department.”

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