By Liu Shaowei, Su Kaili and Wei Tao
NOUAKCHOTT, Nov. 7 -- The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark, which is on the Mission Harmony-2024 in Mauritania, succeeded in extracting a foreign object from a Mauritanian patient's hand via an innovative surgical laser positioning technique on November 3rd local time. This marked the inaugural use of China's homegrown ship-borne surgical laser positioning system overseas.
A senior Mauritanian military officer named Moulaye had been in pain for years due to the fragment of a bullet lodged in his right hand eight years ago. It was a challenge for local hospitals to pinpoint location of the small and movable fragment. A hasty surgery could cause significant trauma to the hand, increasing the operation risk and healing difficulty.
Upon learning of the Peace Ark's arrival, Moulaye promptly boarded the ship for consultation. Chinese medical experts conducted a comprehensive physical examination for him and devised a detailed surgical plan after thorough discussion.
In the surgery, the expert team leveraged the ship's surgical laser positioning system for precise localization of the fragment within Moulaye's hand. As the fragment had been embedded in his hand for too long, it was encapsulated by human tissue. Therefore, meticulous procedures such as dissection and hemostasis were performed, leading to the successful removal of the fragment that had been lodged in his hand for eight years.
The ship-borne surgical laser positioning system differs from conventional medical navigation. It features faster response times, higher rates of temporary usage, and less stringent environmental requirements. Since its implementation, it has achieved a 100% success rate in extracting metallic foreign matters from patients.