Orthopaedic surgeons urge FG to subsidize knee implant for indigents

Surgical doctor examining xray film, diagnose patient 's waist bone. Surgery operation concept.

The Nigeria Orthopaedic Association has called on the Federal Government to subsidize knee implant costs to make surgeries more accessible for indigent Nigerians.

They opined that this is crucial in alleviating the suffering of vulnerable and aged individuals seeking necessary surgeries.

The Orthopedic Consultant and Trauma Surgeon, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr. Songden Zumnan David, made the call on the second day of the Nigeria Orthopaedic Association’s 46th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting with the theme: ‘Musculoskeletal Tumors.’

He said: “It will be of immense help for the indigent Nigerians if the government can subsidize the cost of the implants. It will go a long way to alleviate their sufferings.”

“We usually hold our annual conference, and this year’s is holding in Abuja. As part of the conference, we usually organize a pre-conference workshop where we take issues and deliberate on it.”

“This year, we spoke on life surgeries. As part of it, we go into partnership with implant companies and also mobilize resources within ourselves and decided to do a mini outreach and free surgeries for indigent patients.”

“We are offering eight total knee replacements. These are expensive procedures that we feel, as part of our Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), we decided to offer knee replacements, two in Garki General Hospital, two in National Hospital, and another two at Federal Medical Centre, Jabi.

“What we do is to operate on those with critical conditions that have gone beyond what medical treatment will do. Like you know, this knee replacement is done for people who have arthritis of the knee where the cartilage is completely gone, and they cannot walk without feeling pain in their legs, and the knees become almost impossible for them to use.

“So, at that point, it is the surgery that helps, as the total knee replacement is the best procedure to do for them.”

“The cost is prohibitive for most of our patients, and so we decided that some of those who could not afford it, we were able to arrange on our own, together with our implant suppliers, to supply these things free while we contribute to pay for the drugs and order things to ensure that we’re able to do this free.”

“The hospitals also subsidized some of them, waived the bills of their surgeries and consumables for us. So it’s a joint effort. We already had some patients who met the criteria in terms of indications, you know, before you decide to operate on a patient, the patient must meet indications,” he said.

While speaking on the criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries, David said they were already indicated for the surgery; they had already met it and were already on the lines in our hospitals waiting for surgeries almost indefinitely because they could not afford the cost of surgery.

“They were already there and could not afford it, and they have been waiting for a long time. Physiotherapists need to get them to work, and then we need to follow them up for some time. Of course, follow-up is supposed to be a long process, but we intend to follow them free for at least six months, including the physiotherapy that they need during the surgery.”

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE