A professor of Radiology, Abiodun Adeyinka, has urged the Federal Government and private sector enterprises to invest in ‘Interventional Radiology’ to boost modern medicine practices in Nigeria.
Adeyinka, a consultant radiologist, College of Medicine, UCH, Ibadan, made the call on Monday in Lagos at the 2022 faculty day celebration by the Faculty of Radiology, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.
The theme of the programme is: “Role of Interventional Radiology In Modern Medicine In Nigeria”.
He described interventional radiology as a sub-specialty in radiology that performs various minimally-invasive procedures that diagnose, treat and cure many kind of conditions using medical imaging guidance such as X-rays, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Ultrasound.
Adeyinka, also the key speaker at event, said that interventional radiology had not replaced surgery, but provided a less invasive way of doing some surgical procedures that would have probably kept patient in the hospital for about three to four weeks.
According to him, with the interventional radiology the surgical procedure is done on a daily basis and achieves the same result as surgery and the patient leaves the hospital within some hours.
`He said that although interventional radiology had not replaced surgery, it remained the best medical offer a patient could have rather than surgery because it is an advancement in the medical practice.
“Instead of an open surgical operation, the interventional radiology can be used to give a permanent cure to fibroids, cancer and cardiac conditions.
“It can be used to stop the supply of blood to fibroid tumor in women and once the tumor no longer gets blood, it shrinks and dies.
“But where we are having problems is in the area of equipment; the materials and equipment used in interventional radiology are quite expensive.
“That’s why we need government as well as private sector to come in and provide or subside the cost of some of the equipment,” he said.
Adeyinka, therefore, urged government to make it easier for some of the equipment to enter into the country, by reducing or totally removing the excessive tariffs placed on them at the Ports.
“There are some of our partners abroad that want to donate some of the equipment to Nigeria, but due to high tariffs, they are stocked there at the port.
“There are just about 19 centres in Nigeria that have interventional radiology. Even if government can’t provide the equipment, at least it can create the enabling environment for the equipment to easily enter the country,” Adeyinka said.
The Faculty Chairperson, Prof. Rachel Akinola, identified consumables and manpower as major challenges that limit the adoption and practice of interventional radiology in Nigeria.
Akinola, also a consultant radiologist, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), said there were limited number of trained professionals to handle interventional radiology in Nigeria.
In her speech of welcome, Akinola, also lamented that the few available trained professionals were leaving the country to practice abroad.
She, therefore, called on the government to intensify efforts not only to train professionals on interventional radiology, but also to retain the already trained doctors and medical professionals.
Another consultant radiologist, Dr Caleb Yakubu, said the essence of the programme was to sensitise and educate the general populace on the relevance of radiology in medical operations.
Yakubu, also the Coordinator, One-Stop-Breast Clinic, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said the objective was educate the public on ways to benefit from the modern medical advancements that were evolving.
He emphasised the need for women to go for cancer screening with the aid of mammography machines, urging the government ensure provision of the machines in all state and federal hospitals across the country.
“The key to effective management of cancer is early detection. And eight out of every 10 Nigerian women has breast cancer. And the type of breast cancer they have is very aggressive and they are presented late.
“So, let government provide mammography machines in all government hospitals and make them readily available, accessible and affordable so that Nigeria women can easily be screened for cancer,” he said.
A retired consultant radiologist, Prof. Gbadebo Olusegun, urged the federal government to do everything possible to stop the increasing brain drain and medical tourism among the Nigerian citizens.
According to him, setting up functional and equipped interventional radiology centres with trained professionals will help to curb medical tourism and brain drain in the country.
“Unfortunately, hard times are here, where we are confronted with massive brain drain of medical professionals and unimaginable forex bastardisation.
“If people can get in Nigeria the same quality of healthcare they seek abroad, they will have no reason to travel to another country. This will also conserve foreign exchange and save capital flight,” Olusegun said.
