BY EVELYN ZORZOR
IT was indeed a moment of joy and restoration of hope for eight-year-old Isioma Eforanimjor, following a successful posterior sagittal anorectoplasty surgery, a procedure that helped to repair defects in the anus, courtesy of the wife of the Delta State Governor, Dcns Tobore Oborevwori.
The eight year old was born in 2016 with a rare malformation where both the anus and vagina were fused together and so there was no outlet for either the passage of urine nor excreta and so, the surgery helped to successfully create three needed openings for the baby.
The wife of the Governor, represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Alicia Okobi expressed her commendation to the management of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba where the surgery was carried out.
Addressing the team of doctors and professionals led by Prof Emmanuel Ameh from the National Hospital Abuja, who had to go through a rigorous 11 hour process, she said “We came with this child to the hospital on August 28, with very minimal human hope, but praying that God would work a miracle through you.
“Today, I must commend and appreciate you immensely for helping to restore hope in our medical centres, having proven that even very complex and delicate conditions can be handled here in the country”.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Victor Osiatuma explained that the said surgery was the first successful kind to be recorded in the hospital.
According to him, the young girl was birthed at the same hospital about eight years ago, without any opening for urine or faeces, a very complex birth defect.
“Three days after her birth, we had to create a temporal hole on her stomach which we call a colostomy, (a medical procedure that creates an opening in the abdominal wall to allow waste material to leave the body).
“Six months after that, she was referred to a Teaching Hospital in Anambra for a definitive surgery but the family obviously could not afford the medical bills and so the child had to stay for over seven years with the temporary opening on her stomach.
“Sometime this year, the story was taken to the media and it drew the attention of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who reached out to the wife of the state Governor, Dcns Oborevwori.
“And so, with the support of the state government, the surgery was carried out, costing over N10m and we are grateful that a life has been saved from so much discomfort and pain”. Dr Osiatuma emphasized that with the right support from government and the people, the issue of medical tourism can be put to an end.
The lead surgeon for the medical operation, Dr. Ameh attributed the success of the surgery to the dedication of the various members of the medical team who put in their best efforts.
According to him, “A female child was supposed to be born with three different genital openings, the anus, the vagina and the urinary tract but the said patient was born with none and so, we had to structure out the three openings. “It is not a common birth defect. She has been carrying the temporal opening in her stomach for the past seven years. Normally, we try to do such surgery at six months after birth, so one can imagine for how long she has had to carry on and the condition has also affected her physical growth and development.
“We would give her time to heal after which the next stage of the surgery would be carried out, which involves closing up the initial hole that was created on her abdomen”, he explained.
The mother of the child, Edith Oseyem appreciated the wife of the President and the state government for coming to her aid, after years of suffering and pain.
A similar surgery was also carried out on a fifteen month old baby by the same team of medical doctors and thus the Medical Director made a passionate appeal to the state government and well spirited individuals to come to the aid of the baby, considering the huge amount involved.
