Deformed Children to Enjoy Sponsored Corrective Surgery, Physiotherapy in Lagos

Deformed Children to Enjoy Sponsored Corrective Surgery, Physiotherapy in Lagos

The Lagos State Government has sponsored a Limb Deformity Corrective Surgery and Rehabilitative Programme aimed at rehabilitating people that will benefit no fewer than 400 persons.

This includes children with lower limb deformities such as rickets or blount diseases, and other deformities that affect their normal growth and function.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye disclosed this during his visit to the screening exercise conducted for beneficiaries at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH on Tuesday.

He stated that the current phase of the exercise has recorded over 400 potential beneficiaries who will be screened over a period of two days.

According to him, 80 children will undergo corrective surgical intervention while others will be offered physiotherapy, nutrition and health education as well as assistive mobility devices that will improve their health outcome.

Ogboye noted that the results of their examination will be reviewed by a team of specialists and those that qualify for surgery will be booked for surgical intervention within the next 10 days at no cost to the patients.

He said: “The process involves a screening where surgeons will examine patients and select those that are eligible to benefit from surgery, and others that may benefit from assistive devices and other forms of physical rehabilitation.

“Those that are qualified for surgery would go through a series of diagnostic investigations including x-rays, and blood tests to check for the form of the bone malformation, calcium levels and other basic parameters. Patients are then offered surgery and kept overnight for observation.

This will be supervised by our team of orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and other health professionals. After discharge, patients will come for follow-up visits at the clinic, and then also go through physiotherapy to ensure we get the best outcomes”, the Permanent Secretary added.

Speaking further, “Through this program, beneficiaries can receive corrective surgery and rehabilitation that includes physiotherapy, assistive mobility devices that will improve their health outcome. This program often leads to improved mobility and health outcomes for the beneficiaries and allows us to demonstrate our commitment as a State to develop our human capital and give our children a good platform to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

“The program also allows us to generate data to create other targeted disability intervention strategies to help more people that may have been disadvantaged health wise in one way or another”, Ogboye said.

The Coordinator of the Programme, Dr Tolulope Ajomale noted that over 6,000 patients have benefitted from the programme since its inception.

He added that it has evolved into a multidisciplinary surgical outreach program that explores surgical intervention, physiotherapy and assistive mobility devices that improve their health outcome.

He noted that the program which usually holds bi-annually was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic stressing that the surgical and rehabilitative intervention programme has been rejigged to ameliorate the suffering of patients and their families.

Ajomale added that the massive turnout of potential beneficiaries at the screening exercise is an affirmation of the impact the programme has had on citizens who have benefitted from it. He disclosed that another screening exercise will be organized before the end of the year to expand the window for more potential beneficiaries.