BY ABIDGAIL MERTA GANGGANG
KUCHING: Sarawak presently only has three colorectal surgeons and is in need of more, said Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
He said currently there are two who are based in Kuching – one in Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and the other one is in Sibu Hospital.
“To have 200 to 300 colorectal surgeons as mentioned by Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons (MSCRS) president and Coloproctology 2023 organising chairperson Prof Dr April Camilla Roslani, that means 10 per cent of the population of the country, we (Sarawak) need 30 (colorectal) surgeons,” he said.
He told this to reporters after officiating at the opening ceremony of Coloproctology 2023 conference held at Pullman Hotel here today.
Meanwhile, Dr April mentioned that Sarawak is very underserved in terms of surgical services for colorectal cancer.
“At the moment we have less than 80 in the whole country. And most of them are based in the peninsular, unfortunately.
“We have calculated that for Malaysia, ideally we want to have 200 to 300 colorectal surgeons,” she said.
She added that presently most of the colorectal cancer cases are managed by general surgeons.
“If you have more advanced and complex cancer, then it really should be managed by a colorectal surgeon,” she pointed out.
The Coloproctology 2023 conference, which is attended by 400 delegates, is organised by MSCRS and will run until March 5.
