Yobe teaching hospital performs first hip replacement surgery

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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