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  • LUTH conducts open heart surgeries

    LUTH conducts open heart surgeries

    •CMD: we plan to operate on 100 patients  yearly

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, has conducted open heart surgeries for seven persons with cardiac problems (hole in the heart).

    The hospital said the surgery, which costs N1.7 million per patient, was subsidised by its partners.

    It said Nigerians no longer need to travel abroad to seek treatment for the disease.

    Besides, 10 patients would benefit from the gesture, which is still ongoing.

    The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Christopher Bode, assured that open heart surgery will be a routine at LUTH.

    He said: “We want to make open heart surgery regular at LUTH.  By next year, we hope to have achieved 100 cases of successful cardiac surgeries. We call on Nigerians to come and sponsor what we are doing. We want to give Nigerians high class treatment at a low price.

    “Our charges are as low as N1.7 million for this surgery, compared to the millions they spend travelling abroad for treatment, transportation and cost of feeding, among others. We call on all Nigerians to believe in us and what we do.”

    He said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) sponsored a patient for the surgery because of its belief in LUTH.

    “Moreover, NHIS also donated ventilators to us for the surgery”.

    Bode continued: “This gesture made the cost of treatment cheaper. We will be conducting another open heart surgery in the next 60 days. Now, we are screning some patients who require surgery”.

    NHIS Zonal Director, Mr Awala Ebijuwa, represented by the Head Standard and Quality Assurance, Lagos Zonal Office, Dr. Abraham Bethuel-Kasimu,  said the aim of NHIS was to make health insurance available to the people, thereby mitigating the rising cost of health care.

    LUTH Cardiac Project’s chairman, Prof. Jane Ajuluchukwu said: “The first set of open heart surgery in LUTH was conducted in 2014. We operated on three patients and it was successful. Now we have moved higher to seven patients, making 10 patients in total. We have collaborations at international levels. It is multidisciplinary, so we had about 10 disciplines that came together to make sure this was a success.”

    The Coordinator Cardiac Unit (LUTH), Dr. Olugbenga Olusoji said: “In the past Nigerians never had access to cardiac surgical services but LUTH acquired the expertise and machineries to make this possible. We hope that that in the next one year, LUTH will be known for cardiac surgeries and will become a referral centre.”

    On how to prevent hole in the heart, Consultant pediatrician, Dr. Ekanem Ekure said: “Expectant mothers or women in child bearing age should take folic acid regularly. This will help to prevent some birth defects. There is no clear cause of hole in the heart but there are some factors that can trigger it. They include genetics like diseases passed from mother to child. Babies with Down syndrome are prone to hole in the heart. Rubella is a viral sickness caused by rubella virus. It looks like measles or rashes. Some expectant mothers think having rubella is not a sickness but it is actually a sickness which must be treated or else it may cause hole in the heart and deafness for the baby”.

    Ekure continued: “Babies may have hole in the heart if their mothers are diabetic. Smoking and alcohol during pregnancy may trigger hole in the heart”.

    Speaking to a beneficiary, a mother whose baby was diagnosed with hole in the heart at 18 months old, Mrs Dayo Owolabi, from Ikorodu, thanked LUTH for successful surgery on her son.

    She said: “It was not easy raising money for treatment of three-year-old son, Damilola.

  • LUTH holds oral health education for children

    LUTH holds oral health education for children

    The Department of Child Dental Health, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), has organised an oral health education session for children to commemorate the Children’s Day.

    The event was to educate the children on the importance of their teeth.

    Addressing the kids, a dentist, Dr. Akangbe Oluwatobi, said: “In a child’s life, there are two stages of teeth; the milk teeth and the permanent teeth. Good and healthy milk teeth will pave the way for the permanent teeth.Take good care of your teeth at your young age, because from ages six to seven, the adult teeth start to grow, and are 32 in number”.

    Speaking on brushing techniques, Akangbe advised that mothers should start brushing their children’s teeth immediately milk teeth appear at the age of six months, using, a smear of the appropriate paste. Meanwhile, brushing, he said, should be supervised for children below the age of seven years.

    Akangbe also warned that children below the age of five should not be allowed to brush their teeth without the supervision of their parents or guardians.

    “When there is bleeding in the gum, report to your parents and see a dentist immediately,” he counselled. Flossing is done to remove food particles between the teeth where the toothbrush may not be able to remove. It is necessary to floss regularly,” Akangbe added.

    He also stressed the importance of monitoring the texture of the bristles of toothbrushes used by children, noting that children should always use soft brushes. He added that, those under three years should use a little smear of toothpaste, compared to that of children above three years. Toothbrushes should be changed every three months or when the bristles are worn out.

    He said that there are toothpastes designed for each age grade, while also commenting on th0e ingredients. He said: “Toothpaste contains fluoride, which helps to repair and strengthen the tooth’s enamel as well as gentle abrasives to help polish the teeth, and remove stains and plaque. There is toothpaste for every age.”

    Regarding healthy diet for the formation of strong teeth, he advised mothers to feed their children exclusively with breast milk for at least six months. He added that at 12 months, parents should stop feeding children with feeding bottles.

    Warning on the insalubrity of giving children sweet drinks in feeding bottles, he admonished parents to give fresh milk, water and fruits to the children.

  • LUTH performs seven successful open heart surgeries – CMD

    LUTH performs seven successful open heart surgeries – CMD

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba, said on Thursday in Lagos that the “LUTH Cardiac Project” had so far performed seven successful open heart surgeries.

    Prof. Chris Bode, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), said a team of Nigerian and Indian experts carried out the surgeries on six Nigerian children and one adult.

    He said that the surgeries were carried out in the past weeks under the LUTH Cardiac Project established in 2014 in partnership with National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    According to the CMD, the institution intends to carry out 100 open heart surgeries in 2017.

    Bode said that the success of the project had brought national pride to the country’s health sector and would discourage medical tourism.

    “Aside from national pride, it also makes economic sense, by giving care to Nigerians in our country and also by Nigerians.

    “It is, however, the decision of the present management to institutionalise cardiac surgery and make it a routine in LUTH and we propose to carry out 100 open heart surgeries by next year.

    “Open heart surgery is advanced and there are no margins for error, so it requires manpower. We need to build a lot of capacities, equipment and funding,” he said.

    The CMD also commended the NHIS that supported the project by sponsoring some of the patients that were operated upon.

    Prof. Christy Okoromah, the Head of Pediatric Cardiology Unit, said that heart problems were caused by various factors, such as genetic, environmental and maternal diseases.

    Okoromah said that congenital defects such as holes in the heart, abnormal connections and a sundry of other birth defects could cripple or kill if left uncorrected.

    She said that adults may also suffer surgically correctable heart conditions such as damage to valves and a host of other conditions.

    She said that the project would enable the medical team in the country to build capacities in their various fields by engaging in such projects regularly.

    “If our entire patients continue to go abroad for surgery, then we will begin to lose our skills.

    “We hope that Nigerians in both private and public sectors can join hands with LUTH to support patients to have these surgeries down here,” she said.

  • LUTH awaits police report on doctor’s death

    LUTH awaits police report on doctor’s death

    THE Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) yesterday said it would await the police report on the death of its consultant, Dr. Thomas Adekoya-Cole, before reacting.

    Its Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Chris Bode yesterday, said the hospital could not do anything for now.

    Adekoya-Cole was abducted and killed by suspected hoodlums at Itele Area of Ijebu in Ogun State on Sunday.

    He was allegedly killed during a clash of traditional worshippers.

    Prof Bode said it was a police case, adding: “It is Ogun State police that has jurisdiction over the case as it happened there. So, direct all your questions to Ogun State Police Command. They are directly involved in the case. We have to wait for the verdict.”

    He said the hospital sympathises with the bereaved family.

    It was gathered that Adekoya-Cole, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, was killed while in his hometown for a function.

    According to reports, he was macheted by some hoodlums who attacked him around 7.30am on Sunday.

    The matter, it was gathered, has been reported at the police Area Command at Ijebu, and the Igbeba Police Division.

    The doctor was rushed to a private hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

    An eyewitness said the hoodlums invade Akongi Street, in Itele, Ijebu, where some traditional worshippers were holding some rites. They allegedly hacked one of worshippers, Omotayo Ogunbowale, to death.

    The hoodlums were said to have come the next morning and killed Adekoya-Cole.

     

  • Sympathise with patients, LUTH graduands told

    The 2014/2015 graduands of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital’s (LUTH’s) schools for health workers have been enjoined to empathise with the sick as they begin their careers.

    This, according to the Director-General of the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Prof Innocent Ujah, would stand them out from the lot.

    Ujah spoke at the joint graduation/presentation of prizes to deserving graduands of the nine schools.

    The schools are: Schools of Nursing, of Midwifery and of Medical Laboratory Sciences. Others are Schools of Health Information Management; of Medical and Psychiatry Social Work;  of Post Basic Nursing; Community Health Officers’ Training School; School of Basic Dental Nursing and School of Anaesthetic Technicians.

    Ujah, who was the guest of honour, said the sick should be handled with care because of their fragility.

    He told graduands to display the best skill and professionalism at all times.

    Acquiring knowledge alone, Prof Uja said,  does not necessarily improve the care of patients, stressing that it should be supported with deep feeling for the patients through empathy, while caring for them. “The psychological component of health care services is as equally important as physical care. I, therefore, enjoin all the graduands to please apply themselves to the art and science of clinical service that will bring succor to patients,” he advised.

    Prof Ujah, represented by NMIR’s Head of Non-Communnicable Disease, Prof Nkiruka Onyejekwe, said though it is the right of workers to fight for their welfare,  it must be done with high degree of decorum. “Strikes should be an instrument which should be used very sparingly and with utmost degree of restraint, particularly knowing that we provide life-saving service.

    “I, therefore, charge the various Union leaders within the health sector to provide responsible leadership to their members, such that conflicts with the management could be reduced to a tolerable level, following effective resolutions. There is no doubt that this is not the best of times in our dear country and therefore, we plead that a great deal of understanding be exercised while demanding for our rights,” said Prof Ujah.

    LUTH Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Chris Bode, who spoke through the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof Olufemi Fasanmade, said the 437 health graduands the schools and programmes for the year 2014/2015 Academic Session, would support the country’s health workforce.

    He said he had no doubt in his mind that after a period of resounding tutelage under committed lecturers/tutors, the graduands can now face life with confidence for high professional attainment.

    “My dear graduands, you have been equipped with skills and professional knowledge that will enable you deliver quality professional services to our teeming population in various parts of the country. By doing this, you will be complementing the effort of this management and the dedication and devotion to duty of the principals, co-ordinators, lecturers and tutors in the various schools,” said Prof Bode.

    Prof Fasanmade, who spoke through Assistant Director of Administration, Miss Omolola Fakeye, said private and public hospitals should absorb the specialists so they can add their skill to the improvement of the nation’s healthcare, “because LUTH trains for the country”. “LUTH cannot employ everybody, as a federal institution,” he said.

    A 22-year-old Miss Yetunde Adebayo of School of Nursing got most of the prizes, eight in all, emerging the best graduating student. She said she was happy achieving the feat. According to her, she was of the belief that nursing is all about, “giving injection, but having gone though the school, there is more. “To assist us students, there is urgent need for the government to provide more funds, especially for monotechniques in teaching hospitals, to make our trainings and studies more conducive,” she said.

    She is planning to further her studies by going for a Degree programme.

  • LUTH gets high-tech eye machine

    LUTH gets high-tech eye machine

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has acquired an Argon Laser Machine for the prevention of blindness. It is the first to be acquired by a teaching hospital in the country. It is in the Guinness Eye Centre of the hospital.

    According to LUTH’s Chief Medical Director (CMD) Prof. Christopher Bode, the machine will be used in ophthalmic surgery.

    “This laser set is the first in any public hospital in the country and we are ready to fight blindness in the country. It was not easy acquiring the equipment. The Head of department, Guinness Eye Centre, Prof. Folasade Akinsola came to me and said the department needs Argon Laser Machine, the cost of the equipment is N15 million. We had three major sponsors, and the largest amount came from Guinness Nigeria Plc that gave N7.5m, the rest was shared between LUTH management and our collaborator in USA Vision 2020,” he said.

    Explaining how the equipment will assist in preventing blindness, a director at Visioncare limited, Dr. Jerry Aigheyisi said: “Argon laser machine is in dual mode, it is both of the conventional and micro pause-mode. Lasers are used for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes is very common in this clime and most times, it leads to some forms of blindness. If a diabetic condition is not properly managed, some blood vessels would be ruptured inside the retina and could lead to detachment of the retina, leading to bleedings. But if those vessels can be sealed up, blindness is prevented and this laser is used to seal up those vessels to stop the bleeding inside the eye.”

    Prof. Akinsola said the machine would help in stopping the bleeding inside the eye to prevent blindness.

    She said: “It can also be used to treat glaucoma which is another topical issue in blindness after cataract, it is a second major cause of blindness, but with this machine you don’t need to do an open cut or surgery in the eye, you just pump the laser beam, and the laser corrects the situation and also prevent blindness. It is an effective tool of preventing blindness in our region.

    “In the past, we had to refer patients to places that had this Laser machine like Mecure and Eye Foundation but we are glad that we now have this equipment and we will have other hospitals refer patients here for treatment and we are ready to handle the crowd. We will be glad to have other philanthropists who can donate another one to us, which will boost the fight, to get rid of blindness in our country. This machine took us three years to set up, it wasn’t easy generating the funds, and the government has a lot to do and our priority may not be their priority, so we had to source funds elsewhere.”

  • LUTH: we’ve no hand in patient’s death

    LUTH: we’ve no hand in patient’s death

    The  Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has absolved its doctors of negligence in the death of a patient, Mrs Ngozi Udebu.

    It said there was nothing the doctors or nurses did or did not do that could be described as the cause of death.

    According to the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof Femi Fasanmade, Mrs Udebu was admitted on March 26 and died about 51 hours later.

    “She had presented with abdominal pain from her monthly menstrual periods shortly after 40 days of religious fasting. She had taken an overdose of Piroxicam (50 mg thrice daily for two days) a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain killer, which is known to be associated with side effects of inflammation or ulceration of the stomach even at a regular dose,” he said.

    The late Mrs Udebu, Fasanmade said, was seen by a medical team, including an experienced consultant physician, and her treatment for peptic ulcer after ultrasound scans and other tests began.

    The late patient, he said, started having difficulty breathing, few hours to her death and was given oxygen therapy, which continued until she died.

    Fasanmade explained that while making the rounds to see how the patients fared in the night, a nurse noticed she had stopped breathing and “attempts to resuscitate her failed”.

    He said: “There was no distress call by the patient, other patients or any other person around her in the ward prior to her sudden death. In view of the strange and sudden death of our patient, the managing team immediately requested for an autopsy to unravel the immediate and remote causes of her demise as is standard lay practise in such cases of unusual death.  This autopsy was prompted by the LUTH.

    “The autopsy preliminary report demonstrated evidence of asphyxia though no foreign body or evidence of strangulation was found. Further specialised histology report obtained later confirmed fluid in the terminal air passages which support aspiration of food, fluids or secretions. The stomach was inflamed but not actively bleeding or perforated which is not surprising, considering that she was already on anti peptic ulcer therapy.”

    He said as doctors, they could understand why a layman may be confounded by the apparent disparity in the admitting diagnosis and the final pathological diagnosis. “The pathological diagnosis confirmed the actual and final cause of death as the ulcers were already healing.

    “A reconstruction of the events leading to her demise can be deduced thus: A known patient with dysmenorrhoea who was fasting took an overdose of non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, the analgesics suppressed the menstrual pain but damaged the stomach leading to excruciating pain in the abdomen which brought her to LUTH.

    “Our doctors correctly diagnosed gastritis promptly and gave appropriate treatment. Ulcers do not show up on ultrasound scans explaining the negative ultrasound scan findings. The pains started to abate by the second day. However, on the day of demise, while the patient was asleep late at night, she most probably aspirated food, throat secretions or water leading to bronchospasm and respiratory distress which rapidly culminated in her death. She was found dead and all attempts to revive her failed,” Fasunmade said.

  • ‘LUTH not culpable in patient’s death’

    The management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Wednesday cleared the air on the death of one of its patients, Mrs Ngozi Udebu.

    The Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) at LUTH, Prof. Femi Fasanmade, said the deceased was  admitted at the hospital on March 26 and died about 51 hours later.

    He said Udebu had complained of abdominal pain and distortion in her menstrual period shortly after observing the 40- day religious fasting.

    The medical doctor said the woman took an overdose of Piroxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory painkiller  known to be associated with inflammation or ulceration of the stomach and other side effects even at a regular dose.

    According to Prof. Fasanmade, the deceased was admitted after she was examined by a medical team that included a consultant physician.

    She was later placed on  peptic ulcers or dyspepsia drugs after ultrasound scans and other tests were conducted on her.

    “Mrs. Udegu was admitted to the medical wards within 24 hours of presentation and monitored by medical personnel. Few hours before her demise, she started experiencing difficulty in breathing and was placed on oxygen therapy. This process continued until her death,” he stated.

     

  • Woman dies in LUTH on Easter Monday

    Woman dies in LUTH on Easter Monday

    •’Management is looking into the case’

    An estate developer, Ausbet Udebu, has accused doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos, of professional misconduct.

    The doctors’ action, he claimed, led to the death of Ngozi, his wife on March 28.

    Udebu, 56, alleged that the physician diagnosed and treated his late wife of ulcer, but the autopsy showed that she died of Asphyxia.

    Asphyxia is the loss of consciousness due to the body’s inability to deliver oxygen to its tissues.

    Reliving the incident, Udebu said he and his family had gone to celebrate Good Friday at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Yaba, Lagos Mainland when his daughter called him that their mother had severe stomach pain.

    “We rushed her to LUTH around 9pm with my wife writhing in pains.  She underwent some tests/scan and the results were ready before 7am the following day.”

    Udebu said he took the results to the doctors, and was asked to wait until they were ready for ward rounds.

    He said: “After about 90 minutes, a doctor finally turned up, checked her and said the scan revealed some trace of ulcer. The doctor prescribed Gascol and an injection which were not available at LUTH. I bought the prescribed drugs. Still, there was no relief. The doctor then prescribed another brand of injection called IV NEXIUM. Again, I bought it.”

    The bereaved husband said the emergency unit where his wife, 46, was kept had no light, fan and good ventilation.

    He said he used his phone flashlight to assist the doctor in finding his wife’s vein, adding that he fanned her because she was sweating profusely and had difficulty breathing because of the stuffy room.

    “My wife was moved to the female ward later where I was told that no patient relation was allowed to stay. Even her younger sister volunteered to stay and help her out in case of any need but the nurses refused, saying it was against the hospital’s policy.

    “During this time, my wife’s condition deteriorated to the extent of needing oxygen. I bought an oxygen mask to help her breathe. In her weak state, my wife pleaded with the nurses to permit me or her younger sister to be with her through the night, but her plea was equally turned down. ‘Daddy, don’t go’ was the last words I heard her say. I felt dejected as I was forced out of the ward around 11pm.”

    Udebu said he got to the hospital the following day around 6am with his eldest daughter “and we got the shocker of our life”.

    “The curtain over her bed was already drawn. Immediately I suspected something eerie. I did not want to believe my wife and mother of my four children was no more. I was told my wife died in the early hours of that morning. Nobody contacted the family when she passed on. Everything about LUTH is wrong. A ward with more than 35 patients with only two nurses available to attend to them. It was later I learnt any patient who registered in any of the doctors’ private clinics will have an army of doctors attending to him/her because he/she has paid in the doctor’s private clinic.”

    The Udebu’s in law, Quincy Opara, said: “The doctor concluded that her death was caused by ulcer even before an autopsy was carried out. The result of the autopsy came out, to the surprise of everybody, it stated that she died of asphyxia. What is the relationship between asphyxia and ulcer which was the doctor’s ‘diagnosis’?

    “This is shameful and above all disgraceful for Nigeria’s prime health institution. The nurse on duty when confronted that they may not have known when she passed on said that she passed on at 3am. She claimed that they battled to save her life.”

    The body of Mrs Udebu, a teacher at St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, has been deposited in a morgue in Delta State.

    LUTH spokesperson Mr. Kelechi Otuneme said he was aware of the incident.

    “I cannot say anything; management is looking into the matter”, he said.

     

  • Health Minister to hospitals: Save lives first in emergency

    Health Minister to hospitals: Save lives first in emergency

    Health Minister Prof Isaac Adewole, Friday directed tertiary hospitals across the country to save patients’ lives first during emergency cases before demanding for money.

    Adewole, spoke during a facility tour of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said people’s lives were more important than the money being demanded before treatment.

    According to him, accidents, among other emergency cases can occur at anytime, so patients should not be refrained from accessing treatment.

    Adewole advised hospitals not to allow patients stay beyond a day at the Accident and Emergency (A and E) ward to enable them have room for other new patients on emergency.

    He urged LUTH management to ensure that the poor receive treatment, stressing that the hospital should operate a social system to enable it know those that are genuinely poor.

    “We cannot continue to turn poor patients away from the hospitals. The poverty indicator shows that 60 to 70 percent of Nigerians is poor. This means about 100 million people are poor in Nigeria. So, we will provide basic care through the primary health care (PHC) system for Nigerians,” he said.

    He lamented poor funding of the health care, saying there was chronic underfunding of the sector.

    Moreover, Nigerians and the media should take the fight to increase health budget to the front burner because health is wealth. “The sick cannot make the country strong,” the minister said.

    He charged patients with minor ailments to visit primary health care (PHC) centres rather than going to teaching hospitals.

    Prof Adewole said Nigeria needs 140 radiotherapy machines, adding that the seven machines now available were inadequate.

    “Only two or three presently work at a time.  Poor power supply has marred our effort to keep the machines running regularly. If power improves, the equipment will last longer,” he said.

    He charged people to improve their lifestyle, exercise and eat healthily.

    Besides, they should have regular checkups.

    “Many late cancer cases cannot be cured