PROFILE
Professor Mathew Kwame Yamoah Kyei is a Professor of Surgery specialised in Genito-urinary Surgery at the Department of Surgery, University of Ghana Medical School and a Consultant Genito-urinary Surgeon (Urologist) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He has been in surgical practice for the past 25 years and in Genito-urinary surgery as a specialty for 20 years. He is currently the Head of the Department of Surgery, University of Ghana Medical School.
Education
Professor Mathew Kwame Yamoah Kyei sat for his common entrance examination at the St. Johns Preparatory School, Achimota, Accra in 1981. He gained admission to Obuasi Secondary Technical School for his ordinary level certificate and continued to the Presby Boys Secondary School and Science College, Legon for his A level Certificate, coming out as the 3rd Best student in West Africa in the West African Examination Council examinations in 1990. Professor Mathew Kyei had his medical school education at the University of Ghana Medical School, enrolling in 1991 and completed in 1998. Having been adjudged as one of the five best students in his class, he was offered a fully paid scholarship (global) to Westminster Hospital in London for his Medical Elective in 1997, sponsored by the Valco Trust Fund. He was appointed a Medical Officer and latter Resident in Surgery in 1999 and completed his Fellowship in Urology in April 2007 under the keen eyes of Prof. Edward Donkor Yeboah. He won the best research presented by a resident in surgery at the West African College of Surgeons Conference in 2006. He was elected a Fellow of Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (FGCS) in 2012. He practiced as a Consultant Urologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, joining the University of Ghana in 2010. His professional experience includes a fellowship in Uro-oncology at the Tygerberg Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town South Africa in 2009, and a clinical fellowship at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel in 2015. To enhance his leadership role in his local Church and the health sector, he enrolled and completed a 2-year Postgraduate Diploma in Theology with the Maranatha University College, affiliated to the University of Cape Coast in 2017 and obtained a Certificate in Health Administration and Management at GIMPA in 2018.
Areas Of Expertise and Research Highlights
Prof. Mathew Yamoah Kyei is an accomplished urologist (Genito-urinary Surgeon). While his expertise in the performance of radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer has been of benefit to many patients, he has also trained other Urologists in this procedure. His expertise in this area as well as other areas of Urology has resulted in him providing services at various hospitals across the country. His research areas included prostate diseases and renal diseases. He has in addition, written and provided valuable clinical images of rare diseases in his field of study and discussed same extensively in his write ups aimed at bringing these observations and findings to bare on evolving guidelines to support an evidenced based management of such rare cases. These research and longitudinal follow ups have led him to produce over 50 publications in the form of articles in scholarly journals, book chapters, peer-reviewed conference abstracts, technical reports that support guidelines and a peer reviewer of over 20 health related Journals.
Collaborative Research
Prof. Mathew Kyei has been involved in collaborative research. This includes the Ghana Prostate cancer study, Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the prostate (MADCap Consortium) and the International Consortium on Cancer Biomarkers for Early Detection (Intercept) study. He has also been supportive of the University of Health and Allied Sciences Department of Surgery, Ho, in its research and publication works.
Teaching, Training, And Mentorship
Prof. Yamoah Kyei was appointed a Lecturer in the Department of Surgery, University of Ghana in 2010 and has risen through the ranks to a Professor. He lectures undergraduate students at the Department of Surgery on courses in Surgery and Urology. He also gives lectures and leads discussions on Medical Ethics as part of the introductory course to Clinical Medicine. He holds additional lectureship roles at Accra College of Medicine and the School of Peri-operative Nursing, Korle Bu. He is involved in the teaching, training and demonstration of surgical procedures and supervision of dissertations of Residents in postgraduate specialist training in Surgery and Urology in the West African Postgraduate Medical College- College of Surgeons and the Ghana College of Surgeons and Physicians. He additionally offers support for further skills transfer after graduation, visiting their facilities to support them in carrying out complex urological procedures. Sixteen fellows have been trained and supervised by him. He has been a co-supervisor of research work of Postgraduate students at School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Ghana, conducting studies at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He is an examiner and an assessor of theses at the Membership and Fellowship Examinations in Surgery and Urology for the Postgraduate Medical Colleges and an external examiner for the School of Medicine of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho.
Boards, Committees and Extension Services
Prof. Kyei has served as the Examination Officer of the Department of Surgery; Chairman of Deans Guest Management Committee; a member of the School of Medicine and Dentistry Finance Committee, a representative on the College of Health Sciences on the Academic Board; the College of Health Sciences Development and Finance Committee; the University of Ghana Academic Board and the Business Executive Committee. He is currently the Head of Department of Surgery of the University of Ghana Medical School. He was the Chairman of an adhoc committee set up to develop a medical referral policy for the University of Ghana Health Services. He is a member of the College of Health Sciences Ethics and Protocol Committee, an Editor of the Health Sciences Investigational Journal, and the former Editor-in-Chief of the University of Ghana Research Newsletter and immediate past Research Coordinator of the University of Ghana Medical School. Nationally and internationally, he was a board member of the Faculty of Surgery for the West African College of Surgeons and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and remains a member of the examinations committee for the two colleges. He was a member of the committee for revision of the Urology and Paediatric Urology curriculum of the West African College of Surgeons that completed its work in 2024. He was also a member of the Committee to write a Harmonised Curriculum for postgraduate training in Surgery in the West African sub-region. In support of the Ghana Health Services, he was a member of the Committee that developed the National Strategy for Cancer Control in Ghana 2012-2016 (Ministry of Health), revision of the Ghana National Guidelines for Human Organs/Tissues donations and Transplantations (2018) and the Committee that developed Standards for Urologists Clinics for the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) (2021). He is currently involved in the review of the Ghana Treatment Guidelines (2017), in preparation for the next edition. He is an assessor of foreign trained Urologists for the Ghana Medical and Dental council to ascertain their skills and competencies.
Clinical Work/ Healthcare
Prof. Kyei considers himself a Clinician and a trainer first and foremost, while bringing in research to enhance the clinical delivery and outcomes and communicating same to the world. In Accra, his clinical work can be assessed at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where he is the Chairman of the Kidney transplant team, having led the team in recent times to perform kidney transplants. Other hospitals he has offered consultancy services include the Trust Specialist Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Police Hospital, Nyaho Medical Centre, Lister Hospital, the Tema Maritime Hospital, and the Bank hospital. In the regions, the Sunyani Regional Hospital, the Koforidua Regional Hospital, the Cape Coast Regional Hospital and Nkwanta District Hospital, have hosted teams that he was part of.
Membership Of Professional Associations
Prof. Kyei is a member of the Société International D'Urologie (SIU) and a member of the Pan African Urological association (PAUSA). He is also a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is a founding Director and Treasurer of the Ghana Association of Urological Surgeons (GAUS) and a founding Director and member Ghana Transplant society and the Ghana Palliative Care Society. He is also a member of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship (CMDF) of Ghana.
Christian Life
Rev. Prof. Mathew Yamoah Kyei was baptised a Christian in 1983. Since then, he has held to his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the Scripture Union Bible study leader at Obuasi Secondary Technical School, Scripture Union Rep for Labone House, Presby Boys Secondary School Legon and MEGA Director (Drama Ministry) of Christian Medical Fellowship in University of Ghana Medical School. He was ordained and gazette as a Reverend minister in 2019 and he is currently the Head Pastor of Korle Bu Community Chapel, an interdenominational Church in Korle Bu.
Family
Professor Mathew Yamoah Kyei was born in Sunyani. His hometown is Asuofia- Asamang near Barekesse in the Ashanti Region. He is married to Josephine Mpomaa Kyei, a Senior Lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery of the University of Ghana. They have three children namely, Maame Adwoa Owusua Kyei, Paa Kodua Kyei and Nana Bamfo Kyei. He enjoys driving and drama.
ABSTRACT
Covering one’s nakedness is one of the early lessons we are given as children and uphold when old. Though some of the dressings of our ladies are getting shorter and shorter and the side slits are getting to the groin, there is still a deliberate attempt to keep the essential parts covered. This up bringing with its cultural and religious re-enforcement makes exposing the Genito-urinary system a Herculean task even when there is a need to do so. Positive outcomes in the management of Genito-urinary disorders are hinged on revealing those parts of the body. Indeed, exposure allows the diagnosis of the disorder and situates it within the context of good urinary tract function and sexual pleasures as a desired outcome. Exposure in this context not only applies to the anatomy of the Genito-urinary system but also how it has been used and sometimes who has been the recipient or had been denied the pleasures, therefore.
The areas under consideration in this Lecture are as follows:
i. Reveal for good outcomes
Covered cannot be cured, exposure offers a great chance of cure. Revealing makes disorders considered uncommon to be seen with pooled publications helping to improve upon our management and outcomes.
ii. Revisiting dogmas and embracing technology
Benign Prostate Hyperplasia is an enlargement of the prostate. With the patients presenting with difficulty passing urine, straining to pass urine and poor stream. In extreme cases, they are unable to urinate at all, referred to as retention of urine. We mainly performed an open surgery, though there were minimally invasive methods - transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The motivation to acquire equipment for minimally invasive methods was low. This was due to the prevailing perception that the Ghanaian, and by extension the prostates of the African was big. Our research revealed that 75% of our prostates were smaller than 60g, which was the cut off for recommending and using this method. Unfortunately, we deployed this method for only 20% of the cases. With this finding, we pushed to adopt this method for more cases with its advantages. At the last review we currently do more cases by TURP than Open, 55% vrs 45 %.
iii. Making Genito-urinary procedures pain-free
One question patients ask when they have to undergo urology procedures is, ‘is it painful’? Prostate biopsy is one of the common procedures we carry out. The main concern has been pain associated with the procedure. To allay clients’ fears, we conducted a study on patients going for prostate biopsy. The findings were that post procedure pain was minimal with scores averaging 1 to 2 / 10. We could therefore confidently assure them that there was no significant post procedure pain. Currently a course of paracetamol for a day or so is all that is needed, and many clients realised they did not even need it.
iv. Preventing infections in Genito-urinary procedures to avoid catastrophic outcomes
Infections associated with Genito-urinary disorders and complicated procedures have also been explored. Many who needed prostate biopsies and their attending physicians feared this complication. After reporting on these complications, we found ways of preventing it. We changed our antibiotic prophylaxis in terms of the medications, dosages and duration post-procedure. The result is that the procedure is virtually free of this dreaded complication now.
v. Flogging men to submission with the prostate cancer big stick, Is it justified?
Prostate cancer if not diagnosed early but seen in an advanced stage, can be deadly. The use of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examinations are good ways of screening, so one can pick it early. The discriminatory effect on prostate cancer risk and chances of cure have been explored. What we have found is that if the PSA (normal 0-4ng/ml) is between 4ng/ml and 10ng/ml, the majority do not have prostate cancer (90%). Do keep your cool if your PSA is in this range, pick an appointment and see your urologist or Genito-urinary surgeon at a convenient time.
vi) Rising incidence of urinary stones.
Urinary stones, a few decades ago, thought to be uncommon among us as a people, has become a common presentation. Is it a fall out of global warming or rising cost of high-quality water? This is also explored.
vii) Be mindful of the hole! Choose right, hit right!
Finally, I will discuss our experiences in the management of curved penis, masturbation mishaps and penile fractures. Surgery offers a good outcome as a management option but sometimes needs one to think outside box. This inaugural lecture highlights observations, care plans and research findings that have improved outcomes in Genito-urinary surgery and medicine. It also highlights how promoting the use and deployment of technology, allaying the fears of the population and encouraging them to reveal without shame ensures good outcomes. The presentation and accompanying pictures are rated PG NL.