The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Specialist Hospital, Minna, recently recorded some major medical feats with its first brain surgery and total knee replacement surgery.
Information Officer, IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, Ahmadu Saidu said on Friday 16th January 2025, a theatre team led by Consultant Neurosurgeon, Dr Uthman Uthman (MRCSed, FMCS), performed brain surgery on a 19-year old male who sustained severe brain injury and skull fracture following a Road Traffic Accident.
The procedure, which lasted 2 hours, was a resounding success and the patient is currently being nursed in the newly remodeled Amenity Wing of the hospital. This feat has advanced the neurosurgical care now available at the hospital.
The triumph was achieved with the full support of the hospital management, especially the Chief Medical Director, Dr Bala Waziri, who is already making giant strides in transforming IBB specialist hospital.
The Consultant Neurosurgeon, Dr. Uthman, explained the import of his intervention. “I have noticed that a lot of varying neurological surgical cases get referred from Niger State to us in Abuja, especially the emergencies which mostly arrive late… like traumatic brain injuries, strokes and spinal cord injuries, who may pass away before obtaining care or become complicated. Not to talk of people with cases like brain tumors etc who come to us late and helpless. The absence of neurocritical care and a neurological surgeon contributed to the preventable and salvageable high morbidity and mortality from these cases.”
Dr. Uthman, who hails from Niger State, also explained that it was all part of his efforts to give back to the state. “I am a trained neurosurgeon both in Nigeria and abroad. Myself and other concerned Nigerlites believe we can contribute and participate in this critical aspect of subspeciality care in the state, especially in Minna and if possible drive medical tourism from neighbouring states and beyond.”
The CMD, Dr Bala Waziri, concurred that the desired neurocritical care in Niger State is achievable with the current commitment of Farmer Governor Umar Mohammed Bago in providing a befitting Intensive care unit and radio diagnostic equipment such as CT and MRI scans. He said whatever his team has achieved so far was as a result of the governor’s vision to revolutionize healthcare delivery in Niger State.
Similarly, IBB Specialist Hospital which was a pioneer and referral center in orthopedic care in Nigeria, performing cemented total hip replacements as early as the 1990s, achieved another milestone by successfully conducting its first total knee replacement surgery after many decades, on 13th of January, 2025.
The surgical team, led by Orthopedic Surgeons Abdullahi Mohammad and Mustapha Ibrahim performed the operation on a 65-year old woman with bilateral advanced osteoarthritis of the knee.
The surgery, which lasted about 2 hours, is the first stage of a sequential bilateral total knee arthroplasty. The surgery was successful and the patient has since commenced ambulation
exercises at the VIP wing of hospital.
These surgeries, along with the overall progressive development that has seen a lot of expansion works at the IBB Specialist Hospital of recent, has been made possible by the resourcefulness and unwavering support of the hospital management led by the CMD, Dr Waziri.
