DOCTORS IN UCH PERFORM BRAIN SURGERY ON WOMAN WHILE AWAKE

A popular picture of Nigerian medical doctors/ surgeons at work, parody or is this the situation in reality?

 

While the Nigerian medical system continues to be plagued by incessant industrial actions, insufficient funding, inefficient equipment and poor enumeration... While doctors, surgeons, pharmacists, nurses, lab technicians and other medical practitioners in the Giant of Africa continue to get fed up with the situation and migrate overseas for greener pastures... While those in the corridors of power prefer to leave the country's healthcare system in an opprobrious state and resort to flying abroad for treatment of even the slightest malady... While the common Nigerian is continually shortchanged in his right to cheap, efficient and readily available medical care... While patients, administrators practitioners and medical students alike are increasingly losing faith in the nation's system...

Nigerian medical practitioners and students are notwithstanding these, dauntlessly striving to be at par with (even far ahead of) their counterparts around the world. Our (yeah, I'm included 😉) resilience, intelligence, resourcefulness and superb ingenuity came to the fore again recently. This was in the University College Hospital, (UCH), Ibadan, an institution well-known for its medical exploits and achievements. This time around, a team of surgeons conducted neurosurgery on a woman while she was awake.

Wonderful, isn't it? That was what was going through my mind as I read the news on The Tribune which I shared below. Nigerian medicine is getting there, and we're happy about it!


Woman undergoes brain surgery while awake at UCH
  Written by  Sade Oguntola

IF you are still in doubt of the expertise of Nigerian medical doctors, maybe this might convince you. A surgery on a woman's brain to remove a big tumour was successfully done at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State on Monday

The brain surgery, which involved Dr Olufemi Adeleye, a brain surgeon and other experts, was carried out while the woman was awake, but sedated but could hear people talk to her.

If a patient is kept awake during the procedure, the surgeon can monitor his or her responses with a simple series of questions and directions, which is where the thumbs-up comes in.

Sources at the hospital confirmed that the woman, who is recuperating at the hospital's intensive care unit is hale and hearty and that her doctors say she would be discharged to go home few days from now.

It is recalled that the first awake brain tumour surgeries were first carried out at the hospital two years ago.

The operation, which though complex enables the neurosurgeons to remove tumours that would otherwise be inoperable because they are too close to areas of the brain that control vision, language and body movements. The surgery could also result in a significant loss of function, if things go wrong.

Neurosurgeons perform awake brain surgery for tumours that have spread throughout the brain and do not have clear borders. The procedure is performed after the patient's scalp is numbed and usually with the patient sedated.

The neurosurgeon works very closely with the neuroanesthesiologist. Together, they will decide if awake brain surgery is right for a particular patient, depending on the importance of awake brain surgery in removing the tumour without damaging critical parts of the brain, the patient's general health and whether the patient will be able to remain calm during the procedure and respond to the neurosurgeon.

Source: http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/health-news/item/31016-woman-undergoes-brain-surgery-while-awake-at-uch.html


HMMMM, NA SO WE SEE AM O, CURE FOR AIDS ON ITS WAY? CAN A NIGERIAN DOCTORS DISCOVER IT? WHAT Do THINK? COMMENT BELOW.


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