Health
‘Institute Performs 5,000 Cataract Surgeries Yearly’
The Eleta Eye Institute says that it performs not fewer than 5000 cataract surgeries every year.
The institute’s Group Managing Director, Dr Benedictus Ajayi, disclosed this on the sidelines of the formal opening of the SKT-ALCON PHACO Training Institute and Ultramodern Cataract Surgery Suit and Lasers on Tuesday in Ibadan.
Ajayi, a consultant opthalmologist, said that cataract remains a leading cause of preventable blindness and visual impairment in people of all ages in the country.
He said that the newly equipped training institute would help address the problem of medical tourism and contribute toward the goal of tackling and preventing cataract blindness in the country.
According to him, the ultramodern cataract surgery suite and lasers will provide the phacoemulsification “phaco” and laser-assisted cataract surgery which is currently the most common type of cataract procedure performed in developed countries.
The opthalmologist said that the laser-assisted catract surgery would offer a higher level of precision for certain steps in a cataract procedure.
“I get emotional every time I see a blind or visually impaired person.
“However, with cutting edge technological innovation, the reversal of cataract blindness is getting easier and easier.
“Today, we are gathered here to present to Nigerians one of the newest technologies in cataract surgery.
“Herein lies a complete surgical suite with a phaco-machine and operating microscope equipped with artificial intelligence.
“This is Phase One and within the next few months, Eleta will aquire a Vitreeo-Retinal equipment, which costs about 250000 dollars to increase its reach in eye surgery.
“Once this has been acquired and installed, Nigerians would no longer need to travel outside the country for any type of eye surgery because eye care destination tourism will be here in Ibadan,” he said.
The opthalmologist said that Eleta Eye Institute had trained over 100 ophthalmologists since its inception to address the shortage of skilled manpower in eye care and increase access to quality eye care and timely intervention.
According to him, a lot of people suffer from visual impairment and go blind due to low access to quality eye care and about half of cataract procedures are performed by herbalists.
“As an institute we exist to provide excellence of service to the rich and the poor.
“One per cent of adults of over the age of 40 are visually impaired as a result of cataracts and most cataract surgeries are performed by quacks.
“Eleta Eye Institute is foremost in providing surgical skill and training as well as hands-on experience to our residents.
“We are set to go higher by training Nigerian doctors in highly skilled phaco surgery and we are grateful to SKT-Alcon for their partnership and support,” he said.
The Managing Director of SKT Pharmaceutical, Dr Dung Nuhu, said that the phaco procedure commonly known as a Drive-in Drive Out (DIDO) surgery is performed within 90 minutes without overnight hospital stays.
Nuhu said that the modern cataract procedure usually helps restore vision lost to cataracts and reduce dependence on eyeglasses after surgery.
“In 2010, 12 million Nigerians had cataracts and the National Eye Institute has projected that the number is likely to grow to 30.2 million bu the year 2059.
“Thankfully, phaco cataract surgery is one of the safest and most effective surgical procedures for tackling the scourge of catracts.
“Many cataract surgeries in Nigeria still involve the use of over 2000-year-old traditional method called couching most often with poor results.
“Other conventional surgical techniques for cataract removal though result in good visual outcomes may require a patient to be on admission for up to three weeks.
“The phaco procedure is called the drive in drive out procedure because it promotes faster healing, reduces risk of postoperative astigmatism and complications like retinal detachment.
“An uncomplicated phaco surgery lasts only about 15 minutes for experienced surgeons while the extra minutes is for preoperative and postoperative medications and evaluation.
“Most patients find it easy to resume their usual activities within two to three days of surgery including TV watching, reading, driving and resuming official duties,.
“This is why we are here today to commission one of the world’s best cataract surgery machine with state-of-the-art theatre facilities, “ he said.
Dr Ayobade Ogundipe, the President, Opthalmological Society of Nigeria, said that 95 per cent of cataract surgery is highly successful with favourable outcomes.
Ogundipe, a consultant opthalmologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, said that fear of surgery and hospitals, high cost of surgery, low level of awareness and poor access to quality eye care were major factors for low cataract surgery demand in the country.
He advised people to seek the help of an opthalmologist immediately cataract was noticed to prevent permanent blindness and loss of vision.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.