A group of EIGHT Ghanaian specialist DOCTORS have performed the first ever internal hemipelvectomy procedure. The team, led by Dr Joseph Agyei Ogyadu, performed a six hour medical procedure to remove and replace the cancerous part of the pelvis of a 21 year medical student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology .
The procedure called Hemipelvectomy is done to remove tumours of the pelvis girdle. It is a therapeutic alternative to the amputation and hip joint articulation. The internal hemipelvectomy is rarely done because it is a complex hip replacement of the affected bone. Over the years, patients sought medical treatment overseas. However, Dr Joseph Agyei Ogyadu says Ghanaian doctors are very capable of doing the complex procedure. He added that the team that worked on the patient were mostly trained in Ghana and most of them are alumni of the University of Ghana Medical School.
He continued his interview saying that the University of Ghana Medical Centre is an excellent faculty that has almost all the equipment to be used for the Surgery. He emphasized that the quality of care at the University of Ghana Medical Centre is the same or even better than those abroad. The procedure used was a combination of the type two and type three resection that completely removes the tumour to enable patients walk again.
The surgery was successful. The team comprised doctors from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and University of Ghana Medical Centre and supporting Nurses.
Source: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
