METHODS: The location and capability of hospitals to perform the Bellwether procedures was obtained from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and MoH hospital specific websites. The Malaysian population data were retrieved from the national department of statistics. Times for patients to travel to hospital were calculated by combining manual contouring and geospatial mapping.
RESULTS: There were 49 Bellwether-capable MoH hospitals serving a national population of 32.5 million. Overall 94% of Malaysia's population have access to the Bellwethers within two hours. This coverage is universal in West (Peninsular) Malaysia, but there is only 73% coverage in East Malaysia, with 1.8 million residents of Sabah and Sarawak not having timely access. Malaysia's Bellwether capacity compares well with other countries in World Health Organisation's Western Pacific region.
CONCLUSION: There is good access to essential and emergency surgical services in Malaysia. The incomplete access for 1.8 million people in East Malaysia will inform national surgical planning.
Case presentation: We present a 36-year-old lady with underlying end-stage renal failure (ESRF) and undiagnosed mental health issues who was treated for recurrent episodes of gastritis. Imaging modalities revealed intragastric foreign body ingestion which is consistent with gastric trichobezoar. She eventually underwent laparotomy and gastrotomy to remove the foreign body. Postoperatively, she was referred and followed-up by the psychiatric team.
Conclusion: Gastric trichobezoar has strong associations with psychiatric disorders. With the co-existence of an ESRF, uraemia might contribute to the aetiology of the trichotillomania and trichophagia. Open surgery is the choice of definitive management especially if bezoars are larger. Should the recurrence be remitted, a biopsychosocial modality and regular haemodialysis is the most sustainable approach to ensure the behaviour does not persist.
Case presentation: We report a 10-year-old Dusun girl presenting with left hypochondrial pain and noted a left hypochondrial mass on examination. This report highlights the role of clinical imaging during the pre-operative and post-operative phases.
Clinical discussion: Ultrasound and CT imaging was useful in determining that the tumor originated from the tail of the pancreas. The presence of a definite capsule with internal solid-cystic components helped narrowed the differential diagnosis to solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas. MR liver was useful to rule out liver metastasis in this child.
Intervention and outcome: The patient was scheduled for laparotomy and tumour excision at a regional paediatric centre. Successful excision of the tumor en-mass was performed and the child's subsequent recovery was uneventful.
Conclusion: Clinical imaging plays a critical role in the diagnosis and management of paediatric solid organ tumours. Other than renal origin, suspicion of pancreatic tail origin should be considered by clinicians when encountering a ballotable left abdominal mass.
RECENT FINDINGS: Advance in the imaging study provides more accurate assessment of fMMC in utero. Prenatal maternal--fetal surgery in fMMC demonstrates favourable postnatal outcome. Minimally invasive fetal surgery minimizes uterine wall disruption. Endoscopic fetal surgery is performed via laparotomy-assisted or entirely percutaneous approach. The postnatal outcome for open and endoscopic fetal surgery shares no difference. Single layer closure during repair of fMMC is preferred to reduce postnatal surgical intervention. All maternal--fetal surgeries impose anesthetic and obstetric risk to pregnant woman. Ruptured of membrane and preterm delivery are common complications. Trans-amniotic stem cell therapy (TRASCET) showed potential tissue regeneration in animal models. Fetal tissue engineering with growth factors and dura substitutes with biosynthetic materials promote spinal cord regeneration. This will overcome the challenge of closure in large fMMC. Planning of the maternal--fetal surgery should adhere to ethical framework to minimize morbidity to both fetus and mother.
SUMMARY: Combination of endoscopic fetal surgery with TRASCET or tissue engineering will be a new vision to achieve to improve the outcome of prenatal intervention in fMMC.