Dr Nara's Thoracic Surgery

09/05/2026

In between a tracheal injury sent for repair all the way from Penang and a posterior chest wall resection for a paraspinal chondrosarcoma, I managed to deliver a talk on 'Early Lung Cancer Surgical Management' at the NTCC 2026.

The talk emphasised mainly on how to manage if an early lung nodule is detected, which includes

1. Surgical planning with AI assisted 3dCT reconstruction to identify the nodule precisely for accurate margin of resection.

2. Single incision (4cm) access VATS surgery.

3. Use of ICG dye localisation with infrared telescope for intraoperative nodule identification.

4. Usage of cryoablation for minimal post op pain.

5. Usage of digitally monitored negative pressure thoracic drainage for effective post op drain management.

These measures ensure a complete package of solving the dilemma of managing a small,

03/05/2026

Three chest wall surgeries encompassing tumor and trauma were performed by final year thoracic surgery fellow, Dr Dinesh and 1st year fellow, Dr Dexter in the last 10 days.

A case of metastatic tumor to lower sternum, resected and reconstructed. 2 cases of traumatic rib fractures requiring ventilation were fixed along with other fractures at the clavicles and scapula.

This could be the prelude to our International Chest Wall Surgery Workshop scheduled in less than 2 weeks.

04/04/2026

Thanks for the support everyone. Looking forward in meeting all of you.

30/03/2026

28/03/2026

Had a fruitful discussion with Dr Fang and Dr Cardillo in Shanghai East Hospital on the management of lung cancer and also observed surgeries by Dr Fang. Impressive setup for a government hospital. The next meeting is planned in Kuala Lumpur.

11/03/2026

Lady in her 30s suffering from hemoptysis since Feb 2026. CT scan showed a carina tumor. No biopsy was taken fearing of bleeding, hence no diagnosis. PET CT showed localised disease.

She was sent to me by Dr Fikri from Gleaneagles KL for resection. Together, we performed left partial carina resection and reconstruction from right sided thoracotomy without ECMO or CPB. Thanks to Dr Cindy for handling the airways.

Frozen section showed clear margins, it was a poorly differentiared carcinoma. Post surgical recovery was unevenful.

Prompt decision, quick referral and resection clearly makes a difference in recovery and outcome.

06/03/2026

3 trachea resection and reconstruction in 3 different hospitals within 2 weeks. All 3 patients were on long term trachy for tracheal stenosis. They are from Timor Leste, Myanmar and Kuching, Sarawak. No surgeons are offering such services from where they came from. Glad to be able to help patients breathe freely.

15/02/2026

Have a prosperous Chinese New Year 2026. May the year of fire horse gives fiery prosperity, health and wealth. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

14/02/2026

Pleural window or open window thoracostomy is a salvage procedure and at times, life saving for patients with severe thoracic empyema with nonexpanding lung. We performed a few of those, and our postgraduate student decided to write on it. Well done Dr Ehab.

https://www.e-mjm.org/2026/v81n1/empyema-thoracis.pdf

13/02/2026

Segment 7 lesions are rare. After 8 years of thoracic surgery practise and 2000+ cases later, I came across a metastatic nodule at right segment 7. This patient underwent a UniVATS right s7 segmentectomy with ICG guidance. With this, I have completed my segmentectomy journey involving all the segments in the right and left lung.

https://youtu.be/DTGCt_S-J2M?si=D_1sLjNJNBueAJEh

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

01/02/2026

Two of my patients sent tq message to me on Thaipusam day after being able to climb all the way up to Waterfall Hilltop Temple, Penang (around 500 steps) and Batumalai Temple, KL (272 steps) to worship Lord Muruga. Both of them underwent lobectomy for lung cancer around a year ago. This gives me immense satisfaction doing the job I do.

We are just meagre tools in His hands. All grace to Him.