In June of this year, Rundu State Hospital received 28-year-old Secilia Mukoya from the Tumweneni settlement as a patient. Mukoya was treated for a giant ameloblastoma condition, which caused the right side of her face to swell.
Mukoya has been living with this condition since 2016.
The MICT Kavango East team recently spoke to the medical team that rendered the health services and also visited the patient to follow up on her well-being following surgery.
Dr. Victoria Hamutenya, who is the dentist at the Rundu State Hospital, explained the treatment on Mukoya.
"This patient has had a growth since she was 18 years of age. She was seen in Windhoek with the same complaint. She came in presenting with a history of swelling on the right-hand side of the face that was associated with pain. She has been seen several times with this condition. She was scheduled for a follow-up appointment, likely for an operation, but she missed it and returned on the 9th of June, complaining of the same issue, with the growth having increased by that time."
A Cuban dentist at the Rundu State Hospital, Dr. Redfan Fuentes, explained that he had to find a way to treat this condition because it was affecting the patient psychologically.
"We did surgery to remove, with a safe margin, more or less one centimetre. She was losing weight; the tumour was taking over the face, even the throat. The trachea was displaced; the tongue was also displaced on the other side, so if we could delay the removal for another three months, the throat could close and she could die. We are here to save lives, to improve health and to improve life."
The grateful patient said, "My life is back to normal again, despite the scars left after the surgery. What makes me proud is the fact that I have recovered from the sleepless nights, and my condition is now healed. My message goes to the Ministry of Health, more particularly the health workers and doctors who provided good care and health services throughout my stay in the hospital, to continue doing more to help people in similar or even worse conditions."
The health directorate in the Kavango East region called on the public to always report symptoms early to the hospital so that they can be diagnosed at an early stage, and also so that it helps to plan for the treatment of the patient.