The KTRH radiology unit has several machines including mammograms which assist in imaging for breast cancer and other related diseases.
The Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital head of radiology Dickson Matara says the machine which was installed by the county government also serves patients from neighboring countries. He says a 16 slide Computed Tomography (CT) Scan which was procured by the county government has since reduced the number of referral cases to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). The 16-slice scanner scans approximately 200 cases per month. The newly installed 64 slice CT- scan is used for specialized scans like the heart and blood vessels.
In addition, the radiology department has orthopantomography (OPG) machine that deals with the pathologies of the whole teeth and mandible. The radiologist explains that Road Traffic Accident (RTA) victims with fractures on their teeth are mostly examined adding that approximately 40 cases per month are recorded. He says the hospital has fluoroscopy machine used for specialized examinations to diagnose diseases of the esophagus, stomach and intestines.
Matara further says that the state- of- the -art ultra sound at the hospital installed by Governor James Ongwae helps in determining breast and prostate cancer adding that it helps in determining the removal of biopsy histology.
The hospital at the same time has a state- of- the -art Magnet Resonance Imaging (MRI) at the hospital that deals with spine, abdominal, pelvic and brain scans.
Also, it is used in determining pathologies of the spine like the cervical spine, lumber and thoracic spine.
“It scans the brain to examine the pathology of the brain like stroke, Magnetic Resonance Arteriography (MRA), Magnetic Resonance Venography (MRV) among others, he said. The hospital conducts approximately 150 MRIs monthly.
The general xrays, examines xrays of the whole body like chest, pelvic and abdomen. They determine ordinary pathologists like Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB), borne diseases like osteomyelitis. Approximately 1500 patients are examined per month.