From Malaysia to Shenzhen: Mr HO’s combined surgery and recovery

Deciding to travel to Shenzhen after recurrent pain

Mr HO (a pseudonym) was a 68-year-old Malaysian. Repeated abdominal distension, pain, nausea and vomiting over one month accompanied a 9 kg weight loss. Local tests suspected an intestinal malignancy and also found a transverse colon adenoma, abdominal wall hernia and adhesions.

He had hypertension and a cardiac stent history. His local hospital considered combined management difficult and surgical risk high. He searched gastrointestinal surgery information online and decided to seek care at Shenzhen Hospital of Southern Medical University.

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Assessing cardiovascular and surgical risks first

After accepting the case, Wang Yong's gastrointestinal surgery team organised overseas records and reports and completed pre-operative assessment. Considering cardiovascular health, adhesions and the hernia, multidisciplinary discussion selected one combined laparoscopic operation to avoid repeated trauma from multiple operations.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk, perioperative anticoagulation, pain relief and nutrition were assessed separately before surgery.

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Treatment in China: Three procedures in one operation

One laparoscopic operation completed sigmoid colon tumour resection, abdominal adhesiolysis and abdominal wall hernia repair. It addressed three problems in one operation, was completed successfully and left small abdominal incisions.

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Recovery, communication and follow-up arrangements

The team made repeated post-operative rounds to monitor vital signs, abdominal drainage and passage of wind and stools, while managing hypertension and coronary heart disease and adjusting pain relief, anti-infective and nutritional support. The international department provided record translation and multilingual communication and explained diet, activity and reassessment.

Bowel function gradually recovered, and the abdominal pain persisting for a month resolved. At discharge, he presented a banner to the healthcare team. The report does not disclose final pathology, costs, length of admission or long-term tumour follow-up; these details cannot be inferred.

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