The Nation Newspaper

Tag: surgeons

  • Society trains more surgeons in Laparoscopic

    Surgeons interested in Laparoscopic have been assured of maximum support to acquire a novel skill.

    Laparoscopic Surgery Society of Nigeria (LASSON) President, Dr Jimi Coker said serious discussion is ongoing on how good hands can support surgeons. According to him, LASSON will be having mentors across the six geo-political zones, who at short notice will be able to  support other surgeons, hold their hands to ensure that they are doing the operations safely.

    Senior members of the team, he said, will also support them politically to ensure  that they have whatever equipment they need. Life surgery and  more procedures about Laparoscopic will be conducted to train the young surgeons.

    Dr Coker stated this at the seventh International Workshop on Laparoscopic  Surgery in Lagos with the theme: “Expanding the footprints of Laparoscopic Surgery in Nigeria”. It was a collaboration  between LASSON, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH) Idi-Araba.

    Dr Coker said LASSON is already actualising its mission. “We felt the need to  try and ensure that we provide world class service to Nigerian patients because we feel they deserve it.

    “Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations are performed through small incisions. We just operated on a sickle cell ammonia patient where participants were taken through a live process of the laparoscopic operation.

    “It is a different type of surgery; it is a lot more sophisticated surgery. The advantage of this surgery is that the patient will have the same operation they would have had in the old fashion way, but the recovery is a lot quicker. That is the beauty of Laparoscopic surgery, which enables and gives the patient the opportunity to stay healthy and be discharged to go home after the surgery”.

    He said LASSON has been for seven years and “our emphasis is to try as much as possible to improve and increase the adoption of this type of surgery across the country.”  “So at each of our conferences, we will combine lectures with live operation  and practical skills to our members. This conference is giving the residents/young consultants  the opportunity to practice with what we call maniques. They are also being trained, and engaged in the process of laparoscopic operation.  This gives them a real life opportunity to understand what the anatomy and the effect of the operation they are doing. This is a standard way of training surgeons all over the world and it is something we have adopted here too,” he said.

    He continued: “The society continues to grow and we welcome all facets of surgical specialties that are interested in performing key hole on minimal access surgery.”

    The Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Prof. Chris Bode, thanked the society for having worked to the point where, “we can proudly beat our chest that Laparoscopic surgery is established in Nigeria and its training is well known all over the country”.

    The meeting facilitated an interaction among practitioners who specialised  in ‘Laparoscopic’ to encourage, and mentor younger ones, who come to learn at the feet of the masters.

    Prof Bode encouraged participants to interact, learn and exchange ideas on how they can do things in a better way, as “Laparoscopic surgery has a lot of benefits to the patient. “We at LUTH are very proud to be part of this movement. We must give it whatever it takes to succeed, to wax stronger so that our country men won’t be going abroad in search of what is readily available and affordable in our country,” he said.

    Consultant Laparoscopic Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon, Dr Abuchi Okaro, said there is a lot more going on in Nigeria in the health sector, which are very encouraging. “There is hope for a brighter future and better health care for everyone in the country with this kind of engagement/training  in Laparoscopic. But the only challenge we might be facing is infrastructure/equipment. And in reality, we are moving forward, giving the patients a safe and quality service. I encourage a health insurance scheme to make a massive difference in footing bills. I praise the society for bringing up a workshop like this to train and mentor young ones.”

     

  • Surgeons record low risk of spine surgery infection

    Nigerian surgeons under the aegis of the Brain and Spine Surgery Consortium said it performed safe spine operations, recording very little incidence of wound infection in the country last year.
    Dr Biodun Ogungbo of the Spine Fixed in Abuja (SFIA) clinic, in a statement in Abuja, said a retrospective review of consecutive cases of patients who underwent spine operations at the clinic in Abuja, recorded zero case of deep seated wound infection in 110 cases.
    Ogungbo said the study looked at cases from September 2014 to December last year to evaluate the rate of wound infection in their spine patients.
    Wound infection is defined as the presence of or drainage of pus from the operative site and a positive bacteriological culture within 30 days of the operation.
    Ogungbo, who is a neuro surgeon said many aspects of their practice ensured this remarkable result.
    According to him, part of their practice was that wound drains and urinary catheters are removed routinely on day two after operations except in patients with spinal injuries who require urine catheterization for patient management.
    “One other important aspect of our nursing care is that the wounds are not opened and cleaned daily as done in some centres. Wounds are only opened if the dressing was dirty. Even then, there is usually no specific cleaning of the suture site itself unless clearly indicated. More often than not, the dressing is simply changed and the wound left undisturbed.
    “There were cases with wound dehiscence and delayed wound healing especially in obese patients and Diabetics but these did not add to morbidity or lead to mortality in our patients,” he said.
    He said such wound problems were managed adequately by re-suturing a pedicle flap by the plastic surgeon without any involvement of the deeper tissues in patients with surgical implants, which, however, led to delay in hospital discharge and added to overall cost of care.
    “Morbidity in our series related to redo operations for misplaced screws (three patients), recurrent disc prolapse (1 patient) and second look surgeries for continuing leg pains (two patients). The repeat operations did not lead to infections.
    “Two patients died in this case series: one, two days after simple lumbar decompression following failure of his pacemaker and the other from respiratory failure following instrumented lumbar fusion. Both were elderly patients with significant co-morbidities. “
    He added that because of the deaths recorded, elderly patients and those with significant morbidity are now closely monitored in a high dependency unit for as long as required to prevent further deaths in their patient population.
    Ogungbo said: “This should be of comfort to patients requiring surgical intervention for spine diseases in Nigeria. The operations are being performed successfully in Abuja, Lagos and other places with good postoperative care and recovery. This achievement will help to reinforce confidence in the local practice and hopefully will help in reducing medical tourism for spine cases.”

  • Don advises dental surgeons at graduation

    Don advises dental surgeons at graduation

    When former Nigerian President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe founded the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1960, his dream was to establish a citadel of learning and research in a bid to halt the exodus of Nigerians to foreign countries in search of the Golden Fleece.

    To achieve that desire of excellence, he recruited the best of academic and non- academic staff from parts of Europe to lay a solid foundation for a university that could compare favourably with any around the globe.

    It was in pursuance of this noble objective that the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry of the institution, Dr. Linda Oge Okoye, restated her determination to make the faculty the best dental training centre in the world.

    Speaking during the third induction ceremony of dental surgeons of the University of Nigeria Nsukka at the faculty’s main hall of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, Dr. Linda Okoye said in order to keep the dreams of the founding fathers alive, management had not only increased their training capacity but has also provided an atmosphere conducive enough to teaching and learning.

    She noted that since the accreditation of the faculty programme in 2004, efforts had been made to equip it with the state-of-the-art facilities, while experienced academic and non-academic staff had been recruited to elevate the status of the school to international standard.

    She also added that their collaborative linkage educational programme with the University of British Columbia had yielded great dividends, with more than five dental surgeons from UNN benefiting from the scheme.

    Despite the feat achieved by the faculty, the Dean, fondly addressed as the doyen of Dentistry in Africa by professional colleagues of hers, stated that more was still needed to truly place UNN as a centre of excellence for dental training on the continent.

    “Since dentistry is an expensive profession, we therefore enjoin all stakeholders, government and corporate bodies in Nigeria to support the dream of the only Faculty of Dentistry in the entire Eastern Nigeria with more funding. Just as an adage says if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. To the alumni, there is strength in unity.

    We have capacity to make this school the best in the world, if we can come together,” she said.

    To the graduating young dental surgeons, the Dean challenged them to exhibit those rare qualities that distinguish them from other surgeons, adding that “it takes a lot of hard work, discipline and patience to earn a Bachelor of Dental Surgery Degree of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. These are the same virtues you need to succeed in life”.

    She said:  “I have no doubt therefore, that you have what it takes to excel and succeed in life. You are today licensed to practice your profession with dignity to the service of God and humanity. My personal expectation and wish for you all is that the licenses you receive today should enable you to stand out in the dental profession, both in Nigeria and elsewhere.”

    Administering the oath of allegiance on behalf of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the outgoing Provost of the College of Medicine of the University of Nigeria, Prof. Basden Onwubere, under whose tenure the Faculty of Dentistry blossomed, urged the graduates to shun the get-rich-quick syndrome of society and aim for excellence and discharge their duties creditably, even as he reminded them of the need to be of great assistance to their alma mater at all times.

    Onwubere, who won the Africa’s best provost award by African Medical Students last year, observed that following the impressive performance of graduates of dentistry from UNN in the field at the local and international scenes since 2004, the Faculty of Dentistry of the university had come to stay.

    He said the university Senate had recently praised the College of Medicine team for the performance of dental surgeons from UNN and also praised the efforts of the Dean, the academic and non-academic staff of the faculty for this feat. He expressed his hope that the effort would be sustained.

    The Provost, who also represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba, on the occasion, announced that the college had concluded arrangement to build a shopping mall, bank and a centre of excellence for staff and students within the college premises, while the ultra-modern medical library under construction would be completed within the next one year to boost learning and research.

    In a valedictory speech, the best graduating student of the class of 2013, Faculty of Dentistry, Dr. Obinna Franklin Eboh, called for the establishment of the Department of Dentistry at health centres in all rural communities of the country. He regretted that despite the importance of oral healthcare, government was not doing enough, as most Nigerians know little or nothing about oral health.

    Dr. Eboh expressed joy that a journey that started seven years ago, had been blessed with success, even as he thanked the lecturers and their parents for their support.

    Earlier in a lecture to mark the occasion, chairman of the Nigerian Dental Association, Enugu State branch, Dr. Felix Chukwuneke, emphasised the need for the graduating students to maintain ethics in the discharge of their medical practice, stressing that the duty of care should be paramount in the relationship between the clinician and patients.

    Dr. Chukwuneke, a union leader and one of the pioneers of the faculty, enjoined the graduates to make a difference in a positive way in the medical profession, as that is what they owe the present and future generations of Nigerians.

    He admonished them: “As you go into the world of dental practice, you should always remember the “Hippocratic oath” which you took before all the dignitaries, your senior colleagues and your parents here today.”

    Two of the eight graduates, Dr. Obinna Eboh and Dr. Martins Chibuike received all the four prizes available in child dental health, preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery.

    Two former Deputy Vice-Chancellors of the Enugu Campus of the university, Prof. Bede Ibe and Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam as well as the former Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Etisiobi Ndiokwelu, were among top academics that attended the event.

  • Secretariat for surgeons

    The foundation for the permanent secretariat of the West African College of Surgeons (WASC) has been laid by the Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu in Yaba, Lagos. The planned five-strorey building is on Harvey Road, off Medical Compound, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

    Laying the foundation, the Minister, Prof Chukwu, a Fellow of the College said Nigeria is privileged to have the headquaters of the prestigious college.

    Chukwu said: “This foundation laying marks the attainment of yet another significant milestone in the proud history of the college which has demonstrated in clear terms that you can start small, never despising the days of small beginnings, and you can achieve greatness on the long run, if you believe your ability and trudge on, no matter the daunting challenges on your way.

    “I wish to most heartily commend the initiators of this most noble endeavous for their vision and courage not only in conceptualising a befitting permanent secretariat for the college but daring to put the first foot forward in this march towards the realisation of the dream. You certainly fit the description of surgeons having the vision of eagles and the heart of lions.”

    The Minister he had no doubts that the surgeons would not cringe from seeing the project through no matter the cost, adding: “Only the eyes of the childhood fears a painted devil.”

    The college’s President  Prof Kofi Herve Yangni-Angate, an Ivorien, said the secretariat would serve the college’s needs.

    “The foundation laying ceremony is the beginning of the realisation of this noble dream. It will be a place of innovation; brainstorming; development; building solid human capacities for all the West-African sub-region,” he said.