Patients from neighboring countries will soon start pouring into Bangladesh for treatment given the country’s capability to provide appropriate medical services, Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen said today (10 February).
The health minister made this comment on Saturday after the successful nose reconstruction surgery of Karma Dema, a 23-year-old girl from Bhutan who was unable to repair her damaged nose even after two surgeries in India and Bhutan. Karma is the first foreign patient to undergo such a procedure on a medical visa in Bangladesh.
"The quality of doctors in Bangladesh is not lower than in any other country in the world. Doctors can't showcase it simply due to a lack of opportunities. If the doctors of Bangladesh are given the same opportunities as those in other developed countries, they can demonstrate their skills to the world,” Samanta Lal added.
He said many Bangladeshis go abroad for treatment regularly, spending a significant amount of money on healthcare while a Bhutanese girl received her desired treatment in our country after being rejected by India and other countries.
Following the successful nose reconstruction surgery, she is now prepared to return to her home country, the health minister added.
Under the supervision of Dr Samanta Lal Sen, three teams of plastic surgeons at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery collaborated to perform a nine-hour nose reconstruction surgery on Karma Dema. Despite initial challenges, the surgery yielded significant improvements in Karma's nasal structure, paving the way for her return to Bhutan after further recovery.
Ambassador of Bhutan in Dhaka, Rinchen Kuentsyl, said, "By successfully completing this complex operation, Bangladesh has demonstrated what other countries in the world could not achieve. While other countries deemed this operation impossible, Bangladesh asserted its feasibility and made the impossible possible. That's why we are grateful to the people, government, and doctors of Bangladesh.”
Karma, the recipient of the treatment, expressed, "When I had lost all hope, Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, along with the current Health Minister, provided me with shelter and successful treatment."
