Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
A Nephrologist, Dr. Olalekan Olatise, has enjoined medical practitioners to embrace the use of ‘vascular access’ in hospitals, describing it as an advanced and less painful approach to patient care.
Olatise, who stated this at the International Nephrology Conference organised by the Oman Society of Nephrology and Transplantation (OSNT) at the Millennium Resort in Salalah, Oman, with the theme: ‘Kidney across borders: Collaborating for better care’, said his hospital, Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, has successfully practiced vascular access for two years without a single complication. He emphasised that the hospital has been recognised by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) as a ‘Centre of Excellence in Interventional Nephrology’.
While acknowledging that there is still much work to be done to bring Nigerian hospitals at par with those in developed countries, he saluted the doggedness of his colleagues back home and commended the impressive pace at which medical practices in Nigeria are evolving.
On the second day of the conference, a panel co-chaired by Olatise delved into the topic of ‘Common Medical Complications in Kidney Transplantation: Our Experience’, and analysed notable kidney transplant surgery performed in 2022 on the renowned Nigerian DJ, Jimmy Jatt, at the Zenith Medical and Kidney Care in Abuja.
He said: “Following his surgery, DJ Jimmy Jatt produced a documentary detailing his exceptional treatment throughout the diagnosis, surgery, and post-surgery phases. He openly shared his initial skepticism about using a Nigerian hospital for such a complex surgical operation.”
Olatise acknowledged that this perception is one of the challenges faced by Nigerian doctors, as there is often an assumption of inferior medical practice, stating that another is the difficulty of acquiring the necessary equipment for complex surgeries.
According to him, “These machines are not only expensive but also face logistical hurdles when brought into Nigeria. As a result, the average Nigerian cannot afford some of these medical procedures, leading to preventable deaths.”
Olatise, while speaking on his experience in kidney transplantation in Nigeria, said based on ethical considerations, his facility and its personnel do not interfere in donor-sourcing by transplant patients.
He said many patients have lamented the unwillingness of related donors to donate one of their kidneys to their relatives battling chronic kidney diseases, noting that this is in spite of several counselling sessions on the safety of such voluntary, life-saving act.
