Adewale Adisa, a professor of Surgery at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, says minimal access surgery will improve patients’ quality of life.

Mr Adisa said this on Tuesday during the Obafemi Awolowo University 402 Inaugural lecture titled ‘Minimal Access Surgery: Narrow is the way’, held at the Odududwa Hall of the university.

According to him, the initial cost of acquiring equipment for keyhole operation is high and requires commitment from healthcare policymakers.

The surgeon explained that minimal access surgery offers significant advantages for patients, including reduced trauma, less pain and discomfort, a shorter recovery time, and a lower risk of infection.

He stated further that keyhole operations reduce blood loss, have minimal scarring, improve precision, yield better cosmetic outcomes, and carry a lower risk of complications.

“There is a need for continuous training and capacity building across the entire surgical ecosystem, including surgeons, anaesthetists, perioperative nurses, and allied professionals. The training will prioritise safeguarding the health of both current and future generations.

“The mere fact that the technique is dependent on image generation and transmission to guide the surgeon implies that a constant power supply must be guaranteed. Two decades ago, power supply was a big challenge in Nigerian tertiary hospitals. But sadly, it is a bigger challenge today than ever before.

“MAS has demonstrated superior outcomes for Nigerian patients. It should therefore be integrated into national policy as a cornerstone for addressing the country’s surgical healthcare needs,” he stated.

According to him, the future of surgery is being shaped by modern technology and artificial intelligence.

“Nigeria must act decisively by strategic healthcare investment to close the digital and infrastructure divide, and reduce medical tourism. In developed countries, MAS is used for all types of operations, but the Nigerian government did not buy enough equipment for MAS,” the surgeon said.

Mr Adisa also stated that 90 per cent of operations carried out in Nigeria used the open surgery method due to inadequate trainers on minimal access surgery.

“God has helped me and my team to perform over 1,400 keyhole operations in the narrow way successfully, such as the removal of the appendix, gallbladder, colon cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic masses, among others.

“Nigeria should adopt keyhole operations as a public health policy in all public secondary and tertiary hospitals. Many affluent Nigerians travel abroad for ‘medical tourism’, building fun and vacation into receiving care for common ailments that can be treated locally.

“But a poor person, who may equally be the breadwinner of the family and often self-employed, undergoes an open operation with a prolonged length of hospital stay, delayed return to normal activities, and delayed return to work,” the surgeon explained.

He added, “Surgery for the masses is carried out with catastrophic expenditure from out-of-pocket payments. In many instances, families have undergone untold hardships just by undergoing operations.

“If our society can ensure that poor patients can equitably access laparoscopic surgeries and get the benefits of shorter hospital stays and early return to work, we will be reducing poverty among the poor. Sadly, in Nigeria today, many public and private hospitals attach prices to laparoscopy procedures that make it beyond the reach of the average Nigerian.”

(NAN)