A total of 13 people have benefited from free Urologic surgery at King Faisal and Rwanda Military hospitals out of 17 targeted.

The surgery is being carried out by a team of seven medics under IVUmed, a non-governmental  organisation based in  Utah, US. The medics are in the country for a week-long tour.

"We are interested in the welfare of people with problems related to urology, and we are here on invitation by the respective hospitals,” Angel Carlos, a paedraitic  urologist  attached to East Tennesse  Children’s Hospital said.

Urologic surgery is a speciality that deals with ailments affecting  the male and female urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra) and the male reproductive organs (penis, testes, scrotum, prostate, etc). These ailments  include hypospadias, undescended testes, Epispadias, bladder prolapsed, hematuria and prostatitis.

According to Dr Africa Gasana,  a urological surgeon attached to King Faisal and Rwanda Military Hospitals, undescended testes  is the commonest  urologic ailment. 

He says the country currently has only three urologists and more three are still undergoing training, and only three hospitals can offer that kind of care currently.

 "Rwanda Military Hospital, King Faisal and the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) receive  an average of about 100 patients annually,” Dr Africa noted.

He said complete care for a urologic ailments  like Bladder exstrophy costs about    $1000 (Rwf0.68m) in a private wing.

"Most of these ailments are inborn and any can have them,” Africa said.

Carlos praised the progress made in the field. 

"A lot has changed ever since my first visit a year ago , staff and equipment have seemingly increased in these two hospitals,” Dr Africa said. 

"We have capacity to handle most of the Urologic ailments, however volunteers like these ones help us clear the backlog of patients,” he added.