Pediatricians Provide Week-Long Free Surgeries For Kwara Kids
The Association of Paediatric Surgeons of Nigeria (APSON) has kicked off a week-long free surgical intervention for 150 children in Kwara State.
This initiative aims to provide medical care at the Aisha Buhari Mother and Child Hospital, Eiyenkonrin, for children below 15 years with various conditions, such as hernia, hydrocele, lipoma, cleft lips, undescended testis, cysts, and umbilical hernias
The theme of the intervention is titled: “Quality improvement in surgical care of children” while the sub-theme is “Transitional care in paediatrics surgery.”
The National Vice Chairman of APSON, Prof. Lukman AbdulRaheem, who spoke on the sidelines of the launch of the intervention, said that the programme was part of activities to mark the 23rd annual conference of the association.
He said Kwara would be hosting the conference for the second time, adding that this year’s event was an addition to the one organised previously.
He said, “We are including free surgical outreach to give back to the communities, and our target is 150 children.”
Mr AbdulRaheem, who is a consultant paediatrician at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, said the surgeries would last for a week.
He added that Kwara State would also host an international training, which would be facilitated by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Canada.
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“The association will also train members and colleagues on how to take care of children that suffer injuries of various types,” he said.
He explained that the two-day training is titled: “Trauma resuscitation in kids.”
The vice president said participants would discuss and find solutions to current matters of concern in the profession.
He added, “We want to look at ways to improve the quality of services we are rendering to children so that everybody will exchange ideas and suggest ways to make things better.”
According to him, the association will also deliberate on how to help children tackle emerging diseases and conditions.
He added, “That is why we brought transitional care in paediatrics surgery. Some children may have ailments that require surgical care that were not discovered early enough. We want to have discussions with other surgery providers on how to see these children we have cared for during their childhood and how they can have continuity in their care as adults.”
On his part, a paediatric consultant surgeon at UITH, Prof. Nasir AbdulRasheed, said that the free surgical outreach is for children with unmet surgical needs.
He said, “The surgery is for children who have special conditions that require surgery but cannot afford it. The most common surgical condition in children that needs attention is hernia. They are usually presented as swelling in the scrotum and hydrocele, which has complications. We are also attending to children with cleft lips and lumps.”
Lastly, Abdullahi Abubakar and Nafisat Baqi, parents of children who also benefited from the free surgeries, commended the association for the life -saving intervention.
They explained that they could not access health intervention previously because the surgery is expensive.
