By Morenike Taire

For the hundreds of thousands of Nigerian women who suffer lifestyle impediments due to chronic fibroids, the fear of removal by invasive surgery has been of major concern, with relatively high morbidity rates and various side effects including anaemia, wound infection and wound dehiscence.

The inauguration of a High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment centre by the Nordica Group in Lagos and Abuja was, therefore, a miracle of sorts for the more than 500 women who have benefited from non-invasive fibroids removal over the last three years.

As with all miracles, beneficiaries happily shared testimonials proclaiming the benefits of the procedure at a recent gathering with their medical care professionals in Lagos marking the crossing of the 500 line and the centre’s 3rd anniversary.

Chief Medical Officer, Nordica Group, owners of The Fibroid Centre, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, in his address, said, “As a gynaecologist, I know what it means to do a myomectomy. People think it’s a small thing. in a country like ours where many things are missing very few hospitals really should be doing that surgery not because the doctors are not good but because what possibly can go wrong will go wrong. Even in the UK, people die after myomectomy so it’s not a Nigerian problem but the facilities in our country are inadequate.

Dr. Ajayi said the successful completion of 500 patients with the HIFU machine was the fulfilment of a dream for him, one which he had since 1996.

“For me, it’s more than what we are actually celebrating. If we have done 500 procedures, we would have saved the lives of at least 5 people and that, for me, we cannot quantify in naira and kobo”.

It was a dream which had taken years to incubate, having thought about the technology for about 10 years before deciding it could used in Nigeria. He finally reached out to the technologists in China and the rest, as they say, is history.

A representative from China, Dr. Hu, joined in the celebration. “They come to check on us to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. We also intend that over time, some other people will join. They have been in South Africa for about ten years. They have in Egypt; we have a 3rd one and Tanzania too. What excites me the most is the quality of life. The number of infertility caused by fibroid is only about 2 to 3 percent but it can be associated with infertility. That is one of the things we are trying to teach. That is also very reassuring, that it does not affect your fertility”.

Another advantage, according to him, is the number of people required to do the HIFU procedure. “You don’t need a whole entourage. You don’t need an anaesthetist, just a doctor, a nurse and probably someone to run around the room for them. Some of the risk associated with the surgery is because you are going to be immobilised. There was a woman who had gone to the UK and had done a successful surgery. After the surgery she decided to go and shop and collapsed. It’s a method we should embrace in Nigeria. I am sure over time; it will become more popular”.

A Ghana based beneficiary who regrettably joined the celebration via zoom, echoed the testimonials of the women present about patient care at The Fibroid Centre, saying the clinic felt like being in a hotel. Another survivor corroborated this. ” They call you to monitor you for days on end, even to the extent of monitoring your food intake”, she told Vanguard.

Attempting to explain the palpable joy, Dr. Ajayi said, “On the theme of the party, someone asked me, why should we wear white? If you can wear white it means you have overcome fibroid and that is what we are celebrating”.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a medical procedure that uses ultrasound waves to treat certain conditions, such as tumours.