Chinese team performs first single-port laparoscopic sterilization in Rwanda

The 26th Chinese Medical Team to Rwanda has performed what the Rwanda Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists described as the country's first transumbilical single-port laparoscopic bilateral tubal sterilization — a minimally invasive surgical procedure that provides permanent contraception by blocking or cutting both fallopian tubes.

The procedure, conducted on Tuesday at Masaka Hospital in the capital Kigali, used a minimally invasive technique that allows surgeons to operate through a small incision in the navel, reducing visible scarring while achieving the intended surgical outcome, the medical team said in a statement.

The patient, a 30-year-old woman who had six full-term deliveries and no history of abdominal surgery, requested sterilization voluntarily. She also expressed a preference for a procedure that would leave minimal visible scarring.

After assessing the hospital's available resources, the medical team held a multidisciplinary consultation and selected Yu Yang, an obstetrician and gynecologist, to perform the operation.

However, the hospital lacked a dedicated single-port laparoscopic access platform and had limited surgical consumables. To address these constraints, the team improvised an access channel using sterile surgical gloves and suction tubing.

The adapted setup enabled the surgeons to insert and manipulate instruments while maintaining the pneumoperitoneum, the controlled inflation of the abdominal cavity with gas needed for laparoscopic surgery.

Through a 1.5-centimetre incision concealed within the natural fold of the navel, the team performed electrocoagulation and transection of both fallopian tubes. The incision was then closed with cosmetic intradermal sutures to minimize visible scarring.

The operation was successful, and the patient recovered well before being discharged the following day. She expressed satisfaction with the outcome and gratitude to the Chinese medical team, repeatedly telling the doctors "Murakoze cyane," a Kinyarwanda phrase meaning "thank you very much."

Beyond the individual case, the team said the procedure demonstrated a possible approach to expanding access to minimally invasive surgery in facilities with limited equipment.