UK-based surgeon who treated little Ainul drives to Melaka to pay her a visit

PETALING JAYA: UK-based craniofacial and paediatric plastic surgeon Dr Juling Ong could not wait to check on toddler Ainul Mardhiah Ahmad Safiuddin when he reached her family home in Melaka.

Ainul was successfully operated on at a London hospital last year after being diagnosed with a germ cell tumour of the mouth when she was just nine months old.

The Penang-born Dr Ong, who was part of the medical team that removed a 200g tumour on Ainul's mouth, had promised to check up on the girl the next time he visited Malaysia.

Ainul's father, Ahmad Safiuddin Ahmad Razak said the London-based Dr Ong was eager to see Ainul and wanted to check up on her for any post-surgery complications.

"After the surgery in Britain, he said he was worried about the position of Ainul's tongue because the tumour had squeezed into it.

"He was relieved to see that, that wasn't the case and was clearly moved by Ainul's development," he told mStar, The Star's Malay language portal.

Safiuddin, 25, said Dr Ong who was also accompanied by his wife and two children, had spent about one and a half hours at their home and joined them for lunch prepared by Safiudin's wife Nurul Erwani Zaidi.

"When he arrived, it didn't feel like a doctor doing house calls at all. It felt like family members catching up with one another," he said, adding that he was touched by Dr Ong's gesture who had driven all the way from Kuala Lumpur to see his daughter.

Safiuddin said his daughter will be turning two soon and is an active toddler.

"She cannot sit still and if she sleeps too long in the day, she'll sleep late at night because she'll spend the time playing especially when she has a playmate," he said.

He added Dr Ong also advised them to not miss any doctor's appointments and to do a monthly blood check to monitor her Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) levels.

Safiudin said Ainul's recent test results have come up normal and an MRI also showed no complications.

He also thanked the surgical team who treated his daughter as well as fellow Malaysians for their support and prayers.

"We are so grateful for Dr Ong's efforts and others like Dr Amalina Che Bakri as well as all the doctors who accompanied Ainul in Britain" he said.