The tenth batch of Chinese medical team has introduced new formula of treatment that combines gastroscopy with Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture to relieve patients of pain in South Sudan.
Mou Dut, a-21- year-old South Sudanese, was vomiting bloody fluids after meals for more than ten days before he sought help last week from the tenth batch of Chinese medical doctors in Juba Teaching Hospital in the capital of South Sudan.
Xu Zhangwei, digestive physician and also leader of the Chinese medical team after consulting with both TCM physician Ji Qiaoxue and anesthesiologist Yu Yongqi decided to perform gastroscope inspection assisted by TCM acupuncture anesthesia on Dut.
The doctors recommended this treatment after discovering Dut’s poor health conditions and his body’s intolerance to conventional gastroscopy, in addition to avoiding high risk of gastroscope under general anesthesia.
“During the examination, precise acupuncture anesthesia gave a full support and an effective guarantee to smooth gastroscopy examination which was also monitored by anesthesiologist. Through close cooperation, Chinese doctors successfully found the invasive lesions in the patient’s gastric antrum,” Xu told The Juba Echo on Tuesday.
Gastroscopy is an important method of gastrointestinal endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive system diseases.
Invasive lesions are malignant cellular population that has increased in size and infiltrates the surrounding tissues.
Xu said that this was the first gastroscopy performed with acupuncture-assisted anesthesia in the medical field of South Sudan.
“The patient had no obvious discomfort during the entire examination, and was suggested to go to surgery department for further treatment after the gastroscopy,” Xu said.
Xu noted that his team applied the traditional acupuncture therapy of Chinese medicine to gastroscopy, to achieve the purpose of anesthesia reducing pain during the endoscope examination.
“The successful gastroscopy of this time, combining advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, not only demonstrates the diagnosis and treatment level of the medical team, but also shows the unique fascination of TCM and created a new starting point in the medical field of South Sudan,” he added.
Chinese doctor performs acupuncture on Mou Dut.
Xu said that the tenth batch of China medical team will give a full play to TCM in the diagnosis and treatment, using their creative concept and skillful medical practice to benefit the health of South Sudanese.
Acupuncture has been used in China and around parts of the world for more than 2500 years. The technique involves inserting thin needles into the skin, most commonly at traditional acupuncture point locations, and stimulating them either manually or electrically.
The manual stimulation technique involves the manipulation of needles through rotation, lifting and thrusting, while the electrical stimulation technique applies a small electrical current to stimulate the needles.
The analgesic properties of acupuncture have been extensively explored and demonstrated by a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
