Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:03 am Post subject: He Died Because of Cat's Bite?

Check this out:

Pioneer kidney transplant patient dies

12 Jun 2006
By Annie Freeda Cruez and Nancy Nais

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KUALA LUMPUR: One would have expected Martin Rinyeb, 61, the country’s first and longest-surviving kidney transplant patient, to die of a kidney-related problem.

But Rinyeb, a Land Dayak of Sarawak, who lived 31 years with a kidney from a younger brother, died of complications from a bite from a stray cat.

He was bitten on the ankle by the cat in his house in Kampung Sebuloh, Bau, on March 23 and died two days later.

Consultant urologist Datuk Dr Hussein Awang, who made Malaysian medical history with the transplant, is now the director of Tawakal Hospital.

"I was shocked to hear of his death," said Dr Hussein.

Recalling the transplant operation on Dec 15, 1975, he said: "There was excitement at the Institute of Urology and Nephrology in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. I was trained to perform renal transplants in Australia and I was waiting for the first patient."

He said Rinyeb, then a Mara field officer, was suffering from acute renal failure and was referred to the HKL by a doctor in Kuching in late 1975.

Rinyeb had a donor in his younger brother Augustin, a veterinary student.

"Their kidneys matched perfectly. We decided to do the transplant as we were prepared," said Dr Hussein, who prior to that had been sent for two years’ training in urology and renal transplant at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

A 12-member team headed by Dr Hussein performed the six-hour surgery at the urology operation theatre, starting about 8am.

Dr Hussein said: "I knew the operation was successful and everything was going well when we attached the kidney and straight away saw the urine coming out. There was much excitement."

On the 10th day, Rinyeb was up and about, walking and meeting people. He was discharged three weeks later.

The success of the operation was a momentous occasion, marking Malaysia’s entry into the field of organ transplants. Nearly 20 years later, the country saw the first heart and liver transplant.

The kidney transplant programme moved on rapidly after the pioneering effort in 1975. Since then, more than 1,000 kidney transplants have been carried out.

Dr Hussein did 101 of these operations at HKL and six at Tawakal Hospital.

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Wife: ‘Cat poisoning’, not renal failure the cause

KUCHING: Martin Rinyeb was watching television in the evening of March 23 when a stray cat entered his house.

"The cat suddenly went up to Rinyeb and bit him on the right ankle," his wife, Diken Dolem, 56, said.

The next morning, Rinyeb’s ankle swelled up and he felt feverish and nauseous, but he refused to seek treatment.

The following day, when Rinyeb’s condition worsened, he was sent to the Bau Hospital. He died at 5pm the same day.

Dolem said the cause of death was stated as "cat poisoning". "And we thought he would die of kidney failure."

Recalling her husband’s operation in 1975, Dolem said: "It was the first time I had left my village and I was very frightened. When the doctors came out and smiled at me, I knew everything was all right."

She said the doctors cautioned that Rinyeb’s transplanted kidney would last between 10 and 15 years.

His younger brother Augustine Sitin, 53, who donated the kidney said his brother continued to lead a healthy life long after the transplant.

Rinyeb continued to work as a clerk with Mara until his retirement at 55.

Rinyeb is survived by five children aged between 24 and 37 and three grandchildren.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:09 am Post subject:

This is the first time I heard of such complication from a cat-bite/ cat-scratch disease.

I guess the complication was probably due to the deceased was taking immunosuppression drug after the kidney transplant to prevent the transplant from being "rejected" by his body. The immunosuppressive drug was however making his immune system weaker to fight off the disease.

Dr asgill · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Penang

I fear the word "cat poisoning" may have been wrongly phrased... it would be better for the press to have claried the possibility from the State Vet Services rather from a Med Officer who probably has very little knowledge on giving the correct phrase.. there hv been Cat scratch related infections ... also could he hv had a diabetic related problem which could have delayed healing of the wound?

Dr kuljitgill · Joined: 07 Apr 2006 Posts: 44 Location: Penang, Malaysia

considering that the fella was a kidney transplant patient, he would have been on anti rejection drugs for the past 31 years!!
can you imagine what's left of his immune system after such a long time on the meds?
no wonder he succumbed to infection so quickly.
if only he had got the bite treated as soon as possible........

Dr Nat · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 1834 Location: Klang Valley

There is definitely a misunderstanding of the terms used here. The term "cat-scratch disease" is related to Bartonella infections transmitted by a cat bite or scratch. In this case, as he has been on the meds for so long, it could be almost anything else! The poor cat has certainly been prejudiced against. I wonder what happened to the cat after that?

Here are some information on the net about Bartonella (cat-scratch disease):
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/cat_scratch.html
http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic84.htm
http://www.dhpe.org/infect/Catscratch.html

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:34 am Post subject:

Yeah right Dr Nat. Pity the cat too. Not sure what will happen to the cat after that incident. The cat never "planned" to "kill" that man.

Syed89 · Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 44 Location: Segamat,Johor

I also heard about a woman being barren,unable to conceive after being scratched by a cat.Is that true? what's the reason?

fhinz · Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 294 Location: KL or Miri

I get scratch a lots from my cats but I dunno if I'm barren or not.