The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship Silk Road Ark on Saturday completed its first overseas sinus implant surgery using biodegradable implants for a local patient in Jamaica. The hospital ship docked at Montego Bay on December 6. McKenzie, a patient who had been suffering from nasal polyps for over 10 years, visited the vessel for medical treatment. After comprehensive examinations, Chinese military doctors performed the sinus implant procedure on him Saturday.
"With the prescription that I got, and all the sprays, I feel that I'm way better now in terms of the pain," McKenzie said after the operation.
To eliminate the need for a secondary surgery, doctors implanted biodegradable, drug-releasing nasal fillers into the patient's nasal cavity. This marked the first time such operations had been carried out overseas aboard the hospital ship.
"We hope to relieve the patient of the discomfort from postoperative nasal packing while removing the focus of infection. At the same time, the implant will gradually release medication to suppress inflammation and reduce the risk of recurrence," said Wang Hongyang, a doctor on the hospital ship.
After arriving in Jamaica on December 4, the hospital ship has hosted 7,395 patient visits in Montego Bay, Kingston, and Falmouth, and carried out 695 surgeries and medical procedures for local communities.
The visit is part of the Mission Harmony 2025, a humanitarian initiative that spans the South Pacific and Latin America, aiming to provide medical and health-care services while promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and countries in the regions.
Chinese naval hospital ship completes first overseas biodegradable sinus implant operation
