A crack team of medical specialists performs kidney transplant surgery at New Yangon General Hospital on October 11. Pic: New Yangon General Hospital

WITH no sign of discomfort on his face from his recent operation, U Maung Maung Oo, 41, professed his excitement at having been able to help his ailing sister by donating a kidney.

On October 9 U Maung Maung Oo underwent an operation at New Yangon General Hospital to have a kidney removed and transplanted to his 43-year-old sister Daw Swe Swe Oo, who has suffered from kidney problems since 1996 and has undergone dialysis treatments for the past year and a half.

“I’m very pleased to be able to save my sister with one of my kidneys,” said U Maung Maung Oo as he sat in chair next to his bed at the hospital.

A similar happiness was exhibited by Daw Lwin Lwin Soe, 48, who on October 11 underwent an operation at the same hospital to donate a kidney to her sister, Daw San San Soe, 43.

The two operations earlier this month marked the 15th time since 1997 that a team of medical specialists had gathered to perform kidney transplant operations in Myanmar.

This time the team was led by Dr Toe Lwin, the head of the Department of Urology at New Yangon General Hospital.

Dr Toe Lwin confirmed to The Myanmar Times last week that the kidney donors and recipients were now under intensive care and were in good condition.
“The spirit of teamwork among the participating medical specialists led to this great success,” he said.

He said all the specialists involved in the operations – including urologists, anaesthetists, general surgeons, cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, X-ray experts, pathologists and nurses – contributed their expertise to the procedures.

Dr Toe Lwin said the two operations took about seven hours each.

“There was no blood needed for the donors but we had to use blood bags for recipients: three for Daw Swe Swe Oo and one for Daw San San Soe,” he said.
“We also had to remove blood vessels attached to an existing scar on the abdomen of Daw Swe Swe Oo and we had to perform a microsurgery operation for Daw Lwin Lwin Soe because she had two unusual kidney arteries. These were some of the challenges we faced,” he said.

He said dialysis and transplants were the two main options for end-stage kidney patients but only a transplant can provide the same quality of life as a normal person.

“But prevention is the best medicine. After that, early diagnosis and treatment are the best options,” Dr Toe Lwin said, adding that the increased incidence of diabetes in Myanmar could make the disease the main cause of kidney problems in the near future.

Dr Khin Maung Htay, who serves as the head of the Department of Nephrology at Yangon General Hospital and who contributed his efforts to the operations, said people should get blood and urine tests every year to ensure that potential kidneys problems are caught at an early stage.

“Daw San San Soe found out about her kidney condition very late,” he said, referring to the fact that the patient was alerted about her problem while undergoing treatment for goitre, by which time 95 percent of her kidney functions had ceased.

Dr Khin Maung Htay said people who suffer from diabetes and hypertension should be aware of the negative impacts these conditions can have on kidney function.

“Kidney failure can also affect the functions of other organs,” he said, adding that early symptoms of kidney disease include frequent urination at night, foamy urine and slight inflammation of the toes.

“Most people incorrectly think that excreting a little urine is one of the early-stage symptoms but it is actually a last-stage symptom,” he said.