Myanmar patient attends follow-up after complex stomach cancer surgery in Shanghai
Shanghai East Hospital reported early recovery and a planned chemotherapy assessment, with visa support helping the family continue care.
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A 73-year-old patient from Myanmar returned to Shanghai East Hospital for her first postoperative follow-up on July 16, 2025. Doctors reported that May Kyin was recovering well about a month after complex surgery for advanced stomach cancer.
The family compared treatment options abroad
May Kyin had recurrent abdominal pain and was diagnosed with cancer in Myanmar. Her family considered several destinations. A son-in-law's business links with China and acquaintances' experiences of receiving care there helped them identify the Shanghai hospital.
When she arrived in early June, assessment found advanced disease extending into surrounding tissues, including the pancreatic tail and part of the transverse colon.
A combined operation after discussion
The account states that international guidance recommended chemotherapy before surgery in such circumstances. Considering the difficulties of repeated international travel, the patient and her family chose immediate surgery.
Han Junyi, director of gastrointestinal surgery at the hospital's north campus, led the team. The operation lasted more than four hours and included removal of the entire stomach, the pancreatic tail, part of the colon and the spleen.
The hospital reported completion of the procedure and said May Kyin met discharge criteria just over a week afterwards.
Chemotherapy remained a subsequent step
At the July 16 appointment, doctors described good recovery. Han said that, if this continued, postoperative chemotherapy would begin in two to four weeks. This was the next planned phase at the time of the report, rather than treatment already completed.
The patient and family said the process of seeking care had gone smoothly and that the early results exceeded their expectations.
Documentation supported a longer stay
May Kyin originally held a one-month visa. Following the complex operation, the hospital issued a certificate to the Chinese authorities, and her visa was extended by three additional months.
The hospital's north campus is in Lujiazui. Its gastrointestinal surgery department described previous experience treating patients from Italy, Britain, Japan and Germany, alongside the care provided to this Myanmar family.