Yobe teaching hospital performs first hip replacement surgery

Yobe State University Teaching Hospital has recorded a significant medical breakthrough following the successful conduct of a total hip replacement surgery on a young man.

The surgery was carried out on Saturday on a patient suffering from sickle cell disease who developed death of bone tissue due to lack of blood supply to the top part of the thigh bone.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the specialised operation was led by Dr Lawan Yari, alongside Dr Musa Abdulmalik, Dr Bashok Palagvi, Mr Manasseh Jonah and Mr Karumi Ibrahim.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Muhammad Gana, who briefed the press on the development on Sunday, said the condition is medically known as avascular necrosis.

He described the surgery as a landmark achievement, saying total hip replacement was a surgical operation in which the damaged hip joint was replaced with an artificial joint.

Such an operation, he stated, was hitherto not available in the state, hailing the hospital for conducting “the rare surgery”.

He recalled that in May this year, the Yobe State Specialist Hospital also recorded a breakthrough when it successfully carried out a major face and jaw surgery.

Medically known as “maxillofacial” surgery, the procedure was performed on a 40-year-old mother diagnosed with a rare, non-cancerous tumour that grew in her lower jawbone.

He attributed the two breakthroughs to Governor Mai Mala Buni’s support for the hospital and provision of state-of-the-art equipment to medical facilities in the state.

NAN

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