Rare surgery cures 3-year-old's severe kidney stone

Arham Rashid Ali Mubarak Ali

In a rare surgery, doctors of an Abu Dhabi hospital saved the kidney of a three-year-old boy, who was born with a condition rarely seen in children.
Doctors at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi performed the surgery on Arham Rashid Ali Mubarak Ali, a child born to Pakistani couple after 18 years of marriage and eight attempts of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
"We consider him a gift from God," said Rashid Ali, Arham's father.
"When he started complaining of pain around the kidneys a year ago, we went from pillar to post, taking him to more than 30 doctors including nephrologists and urologists across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, looking for someone who could help our child. He couldn't pass urine and was in constant pain. He couldn't sleep or play. It was heartbreaking to see our little boy go through all this. We felt helpless and were losing hope," added Rashid.
Arham was diagnosed with multiple kidney stones and had to have a ureteral stent to help him pass urine. Most of the doctors recommended removing the kidney since there are too many stones in the kidney and ureter.
"We couldn't even think of that scenario as it would have destroyed his chances of a healthy life in the future. We couldn't put our little angel through that. It is difficult to imagine the suffering he had to go through. It is his age to play and run around without any worries of the world. The situation had left us in total despair," said Rashid.
"When Arham was brought to us, his condition was challenging. A ureter stent was put in as a temporary solution for months by the previous doctor to improve the kidney function and to relieve the obstruction" said Dr Hamdy AbdelMawla Aboutaleb, consultant, Urology at Burjeel Hospital.
Ureteral stents are soft, hollow, plastic tubes positioned temporarily into the ureter. They are often placed in patients to help reduce pain from a stone, when infection is present to allow drainage, or when a stone is preventing a kidney from working efficiently. However, stents left in for more than three months can cause the formation of stones around the ureteral stent, kidneys and bladder.
Arham's ureteral stent was left for eight months due to missed follow-ups with the previous doctor. Soon, the child began to complain of severe pain and discomfort again. The stent became encrusted with stones in the whole length of ureter. Stones were also built up in the bladder and kidney. Arham's kidney was functioning at 25 per cent of its capacity.
The case was serious and was life-threatening, but Dr Aboutaleb decided to save his kidney, remove the kidney stones and stent.
"It was a complicated process, as it required specialised equipment and up to three endoscopic procedures," remarked Dr Aboutaleb.
On the day of the surgery, all the stones from the kidney, bladder and ureter were removed in a single endoscopic procedure that lasted an hour. This was an important achievement considering the young age of the child and the complications involved.
"Arham is now doing well and is on the road to recovery," said the doctor.
"We had sleepless nights and were beginning to lose hope. Ali has been given a new lease on life. Our faith is stronger now and we look forward to cherishing our time with our child," said Rashid.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi