Name: Dr. Peh Hueh Low
Home Country: Malaysia
Sponsors: Professor Michael Levy
Fellowship Training Hospital: Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, California
FIENS is proud to present the newest FIENS Bassett Fellow, Dr. Peh Hueh Low who completed her fellowship in January 2023. Dr. Low is a neurosurgeon from Malaysia, practicing at a remote center without pediatric neurosurgical service in her home country. The objectives of her fellowship were to 1) To observe the setup of pediatric neurosurgical service in an established pediatric center, 2) To observe how a pediatric center operates, and 3) To follow the surgical procedures that are not done in Malaysia, including patient selection, peri-operative care, and technical nuances.
The learning activities of Dr. Low’s Fellowship included: 1) Daily involvement in elective and emergency surgeries; 2) Daily involvement with the neurosurgical team providing ward, rehabilitation, and NICU care; 3) Working with pediatric neurosurgery attendings and neurosurgical nurse practitioners on clinic days evaluating new, follow-up, and post-operative patients; 4) Participation in educational activities, including neurosurgical grand rounds, neuro-radiology and neuropathology conferences, skull base workshop, and surgical epilepsy conferences; 5) Submit an abstract for poster at the Annual AANS/CNS Scientific Meeting in Pediatric Neurological Surgery and attend the educational event.
When asked what her future plans were regarding a new neurosurgical site and creating infrastructure in Malaysia, she responded “The Malaysian government is building a women’s and children’s hospital in the state where I am working now. I work at a government hospital in the Sarawak state in East Malaysia, where complex pediatric neurosurgical cases must be transferred by a flight across the South China Sea for treatment in West Malaysia. This is logistically challenging for sick kids and their families, most of whom are from the lower socioeconomic group. Therefore, the government is building a new block at my current workplace that will serve as a dedicated pediatric center to escalate pediatric service in the state. Part of the aim of my fellowship was to gain experience that will assist me in setting up a pediatric neurosurgical service in the state which can mitigate the need for transfer for a sick kid.”
Dr. Low went on to say “The fellowship supported me in widening the scope of service by introducing and initiating surgeries unavailable or not widely completed in Malaysia. This knowledge will help me improve patient outcomes by escalating my skill set. The fellowship also supported me in establishing collaboration for training to attain self-sustainability in providing pediatric neurosurgical service in the long run.”
When asked about her FIENS- Basset Fellowship journey, Dr. Low said “Every act of kindness ripples in ways we could never imagine. My gratitude towards everyone that make this trip a success goes beyond words. I am incredibly grateful to FIENS for the support provided. Besides reducing my financial burden, it was also a source of encouragement and inspiration for me to strive for the better. I am back in my home country with what I have learned, and I hope that the experience I have gained can make a difference in the pediatric neurosurgical service back here.”
All of us at FIENS look forward to seeing all that Dr. Low will accomplish and are honored to be a part of her professional journey.
