UCH collaborates to train bone infection experts

Respite has come the way of Nigerians with  severe bone infection that requires surgery for treatment with University College Hospital, in collaboration with the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society of Nigeria (LLRSN), training 30 surgeons to effectively carry out limb lengthening and deformity corrections.

Speaking at the five-day training, which had orthopaedic surgeons drawn from different parts of the country, the head, Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Dr Michael Okunola, stated that the training was to meet the increasing need for this corrective surgery that is relatively new in Nigeria.

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Okunola said UCH, Ibadan as a leading trainer in this subspecialty, saw it as its responsibility to train more experts to improve access of Nigerian’s team population to this corrective surgery.

He added, “few institutions cannot alone treat these patients; the number of these patients requiring limb lengthening and deformity correction are huge. Just like joint replacement, people have been travelling abroad to have some of these procedures done.”

Dr Okunola, a limb lengthening and deformity correction expert, stated that individuals with limb deformities have differences in the way their arms or legs are shaped. Their legs may be curved or one might be shorter than the other. Or, a bone in the arm may be short or missing.

He declared that some limb deformities are so mild that it is not noticeable while others are quite noticeable and affect the way the individual moves or walks.

The expert added, “some limb deformities are as a result of infection eating up the growing part of the bone. So, the patient develops a deformity and shortening of the affected leg. “

The surgeon said as part of the five-day training, two patients with severe bone infections and deformity were to be operated on.

“We remove the infected part of the bone and join the healthy bone together. With time, the infected area that was removed will be replaced by a new bone to make the leg longer,” he declared.

According to him, cases of people with the bone infection are common.

“Most of the people you see around with one deformity or the other limping have an infection of the bone, what is called osteomyelitis in medical parlance.

“If you visit any orthopaedic clinic, about 30 per cent of the cases are due to a bone infection. Diabetes is one of the risks of bone infection. Similarly, a person with a weakened immune system stands a higher risk of developing a bone infection.

“When a wound is not well taken care of, an infection can spread from it into the bone. That is why people that have open fractures stand a high chance of developing a bone infection if they go to traditional bone setters for treatment,”he noted.

Okunola stated that bones can become infected in a number of ways, including an infection in one part of the body spreading through the bloodstream into the bone or an open fracture or surgery may expose the bone to infection.

The expert declared that when such a bone infection is left untreated, it can become severe, and require amputation to salvage the affected limb.

Treasurer, the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society of Nigeria (LLRSN), Dr Omolade Lasebikan, explained that the expertise for this treatment is lacking in Nigeria, thus the association is collaborating with UCH to build capacity among its members to be able to do this reconstructive surgery.

Although training limb lengthening and reconstruction is organised by the association yearly, Dr Lasebikan said there are more surgeons that are still interested in being trained for this surgical procedure

Dr Lasebikan declared “We are happy that UCH is taking up the initiative and the challenge to organise this training. As an assocaition, we are collaborating with them because the hospital is helping us to fulfill one of our mandates.”