2024-8-22

The medical team from Changhua Christian Hospital, consisting of seven members and led by Dr. Nina Kao, CEO of the hospital's Overseas Medical Mission Center, traveled to Port Moresby General Hospital in Papua New Guinea from August 5th to 10th, 2024, to provide medical services and clinical experiences sharing. The team included Dr. Chen Chun-chi (Urology), Dr. Shen Tai-shan (Orthopedics), Dr. Edie Rosmin (General Surgery), Ms. Lee Hsin-yi (Pathology), and Dr. Yeh Chao-yuan, CEO of aetherAI Co., Ltd.

On August 7th, the team completed the first laparoscopic hernia repair surgery at PMGH in collaboration with PMGH doctors. The patient, a 30-year-old male, had been diagnosed with a right-side hernia over a year ago. However, due to the lack of experience in laparoscopic surgery at PMGH, Dr. Edie guided Dr. Elizabeth to perform the hospital's first laparoscopic hernia repair surgery.

During the surgery, Dr. Edie personally instructed the PNG doctors on surgical techniques and the use of necessary materials and instruments. This method not only results in a smaller incision, less pain compared to traditional suture surgery, and a shorter recovery time, but it also allows for the transfer of skills and experience to local doctors, improving the quality of patient care.

Additionally, the team invited Dr. Yeh, the CEO of aetherAI Co., Ltd., to join the mission and share how AI-based digital pathology systems can be applied and interpreted, which received positive feedback from the hospital's director and related medical staff. Dr. Yeh also conducted an in-depth assessment of the hospital's pathology department, including its equipment, operational procedure, and network environment, and provided recommendations for further collaborations. The aim is to help address the shortage of pathologists at PMGH and increase the efficiency and accuracy of pathology reports in the short term.

Since the PMGH Medical Referral Service, promoted by the Taipei Economic Office in PNG last year (2023), there has been a noticeable increase in cases referred to Taiwan for treatment and consultation, mainly referred cancer patients. It is advised that PMGH should prioritize referring cancer patients in the early stages, as the cure rate is higher and the recurrence rate is lower, leading to better treatment outcomes. For terminal cancer patients, the prognosis is poor due to metastasis, which also imposes a significant financial burden on the patients. PMGH is encouraged to provide more health education to patients, urging them to seek medical attention early when they feel unwell and to consult overseas as early as possible to improve the treatment success rate.