Urological surgeons have stated that the country now has the expertise and equipment to perform minimally invasive surgeries in patients with kidney stones and prostate enlargement using advanced treatment technology like HoLEP (Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate).
HoLEP, according to experts, is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as an enlarged prostate, which obstructs urine flow.
According to the surgeons, the country’s readiness is evidenced by the successful execution of highly delicate procedures, including minimally invasive surgeries, across select centres.
The specialists noted that years of investment in training, technology acquisition, and collaborative partnerships are beginning to yield visible results.
The specialists made this known at the 30th General Annual Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association of Urological Surgeons, Nigeria, in Lagos recently.
Speaking at the event, a Professor of Surgery and Consultant Urologist with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the College of Medicine, Olufunmilade Omisanjo, said more Nigerians can now access advanced care without the financial and emotional burden of medical trips overseas.
Omisanjo, who is the NAUS Local Organising Committee Chairman, said that during the AGM, the surgeons explored surgical procedures that we have not previously explored in most parts of the country.
He said, “Specifically, we demonstrated surgeries for kidney stones, ureteric stones, and we also demonstrated laser surgery for prostate enlargement.”
“So, we did some ureteroscopies and lithotripsies, PCNLs, and HoLEP (Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate). These are surgeries that, up until now, are done in just a few places. We were able to demonstrate them safely in a workshop setting, in a number of patients.
“So, we are hoping that surgeries that people ordinarily travel out of the country to do — or only come to places like Lagos and Abuja to access — will hopefully become readily available in other parts of the country, and that they will become commonplace across the geopolitical zones of Nigeria,” the urological surgeon said.
Additionally, the Director of Clinical Services and Training at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Adebowale Adekoya, explained that improved diagnostic tools, upgraded theatres, and exposure to global best practices have boosted clinical outcomes.
This, he added, marks a turning point in the nation’s urological care landscape.
“What we have been able to do is to save some of the surgeries in that space that people would otherwise have travelled out of the country to do.
“Some of these, what you may call endo-urological surgeries and very rare uro-oncology surgeries, can now be comfortably done within our space in this country. And not just done conventionally, but now also with the assistance of robots.
“As we speak, we have been able to drive the system to the point that the country can now boast of three robots spread across the country, two in Lagos and one in Abuja, meaning that governments’ move at large to halt, as much as possible, outward medical trips is being achieved gradually.
“We are beginning to see that surgeries that people would usually travel to the Western world to get done can now be safely done at home,” he said.
A Consultant Urologist at LASUTH, Dr. Abimbola Abolarinwa, noted that urology practice has been developed in the Western world, and Nigeria is not left behind.
She, however, advocated for private sector investment to meet the growing demands of urological care in the country.
“So what we want is that private people should come into the sector, put in their money, and invest. If there’s some equation between the private and the government healthcare sector in skill and expertise, then healthcare will be very balanced,” she said.
The consultant urologist added, “Some teaching hospitals like LASUTH also have a lot of minimal access instruments. We do surgeries for stone disease, minimal access, and all. So it’s getting more. And then we want this thing to be so much that the prices will drop, and it should be available to the common man.
“So it’s better we retain this money in Nigeria, retain this skill in Nigeria, and then retain the equipment in Nigeria. You don’t have to go out, really. I think that is the focus of this.”