The one week Anorectal Malformations Surgical Conference ended on 19th July 2019, with a symposium at Radisson Blu Hotel. The symposium sought to address the way forward for ARM, as most challenges had already been highlighted during the seminar. The Symposium aimed at equipping the surgeons with skills and knowledge on managing children with ARM due to complexity of the condition. ARM is a birth defect where an infant is born with a deformed anus or with no anus at all.
However, there has been a marked progress on the success cases of ARM surgeries and management following the evolving changes in technology. Revisiting the history, Prof.Julius Kyambi, a pioneer of Pediatric Surgical Unit in KNH, opined that a number of children with the high Anorectal Malformation had been treated in a most unorthodox way. ‘They were informed that the condition is permanent and could not be surgically treated and therefore a terminal colostomy was fashioned,’ said Prof. Kyambi.
KNH in collaboration with University of Nairobi and Kenya Association of Pediatric Surgeons are keen on capacity building by facilitating training for upcoming surgeons and nurses, recommending that more centers be constructed to curb delays in presentation of ARM cases. Parents of the affected children are called upon to create support groups for social and psychological support.
While giving his remarks, the KNH Head of Surgery Dr.Kennedy Ondede, called upon corporate organizations to come on board and partner with KNH in realization of the hospital’s vision and mission. “KNH admits way over 2000 patients of which 40% of these patients have ARM related cases, hence the need to expand the Pediatric Facility as well as enhancing training for the staff.
KNH endeavors to offer specialized surgical services in line with the health focus in the government’s Big 4 Agenda
