19-year-old survives emergency brain surgery in Abia

By Steve Oko

UMUAHIA — A 19-year-old motorcycle accident victim has survived emergency brain surgery at the Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, Umuahia, after doctors evacuated more than 100 millilitres of blood clot compressing his brainstem.

The victim was reportedly brought to the hospital on Sunday, October 4, in a deep coma with a Glasgow Coma Scale, GCS, score of six out of 15, which later deteriorated to five.

The four-hour operation was performed after investigations revealed massive bleeding inside the victim’s skull.

Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists at Government House, Umuahia, on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

Giving details, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Uche, a neurosurgeon, said the bleeding was compressing the patient’s brainstem, making immediate surgery necessary.

He said transferring the patient to another facility could have proved fatal, given the severity of his condition.

“Because we now have facilities to undertake brain surgery, and then we have brain surgeons in the state employed by His Excellency, that surgery was done,” Uche said.

He disclosed that more than 100ml of blood clot was evacuated from the patient’s brain, adding that the young man had subsequently started moving his limbs while recovering in the Intensive Care Unit.

Speaking with Vanguard, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu, described the procedure as the facility’s first brain surgery.

He said the successful operation demonstrated the growing capacity of the hospital to manage complex medical conditions locally.

Okwuonu said the surgery was performed by a multidisciplinary team led by Uche, the hospital’s neurosurgeon, Dr Kalu and other specialists.

He disclosed that the hospital, which had only one specialist consultant when the current management assumed duty, now has 28 consultants.

According to him, the expansion was part of efforts to strengthen specialist manpower and improve healthcare infrastructure in the state.

Okwuonu said the hospital would build on the development by expanding its capacity for brain and spine surgeries and providing specialised neurological care within Abia.

He added that the development would complement the state’s efforts to reduce medical tourism, citing the commencement of kidney transplant services as another area in which the state was building local capacity.

Other health interventions

Meanwhile, Kanu disclosed that the state had paid N502.1 million as counterpart funding under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, a requirement for accessing Federal Government intervention for vulnerable residents.

He also said specialised trauma equipment for orthopaedic, brain and spine surgeries was being attracted to the state through collaboration with a Swedish organisation.

Kanu said health interventions had commenced in flood-affected communities to prevent disease outbreaks.

He added that no cases of Lassa fever, Ebola, diphtheria or COVID-19 had been recorded during the period under review.

Also, the Administrator of the Abia State Eye Health Management Bureau, Dr Betty Emeka-Obasi, said the state had commenced activities to mark the 2026 World Sight Day.

She said free eye screening for commercial drivers was among the programmes being implemented under the campaign, themed “Safe Eyes, Safe Roads and Safe Lives.”

According to her, the campaign would run until October 15, with the bureau collaborating with the Ministry of Transport, the Federal Road Safety Corps and transport unions.

Emeka-Obasi also disclosed plans to establish a vision corridor at the Nnenna Otti Bus Terminal, where commercial drivers would be able to conveniently assess their eyesight.

She said the initiative was aimed at reducing road risks associated with poor vision among drivers.

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