The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) hospital has performed its first successful laparoscopic surgery on a 54 years old patient who had gall bladder stones.
The surgical team was led by Squadron Leader Ismail Tsauni of 063 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Abuja.
Laparoscopy is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.
Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery (MIS), bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique.
This feat comes barely a week after the recently launched telemedicine portal by the NAF.
In addition, the West African College of Physicians has given the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Medical Service, Logistics Command, Ikeja, Lagos, the approval to conduct Residency Training Programmes for its doctors.
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, made the disclosure at the inauguration ceremony of the Family Medicine Residency Programme conducted at 661 Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Logistics Command, Ikeja.
Amao said that this was the beginning of residency training in the Nigerian Air Force and that the aggregation of residency training and other specialities would be facilitated in due course. He said that he expected nothing short of excellence from the Nigerian Air Force pioneering medical doctors of the Family Medicine Residency Training Programme.
Amao said that he was delighted because the event marked another step toward the fulfilment of two of the key drivers of his vision for the Nigerian Air Force.
According to him, the vision includes the pursuit of purposeful training and human capacity development as well as boosting morale by improving personnel welfare.
On the laparoscopic surgery, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao stated:
“Additionally, our Nigerian Air Force surgical team recently successfully performed a first minimally invasive surgery also known as laparoscopic surgery.
The advantage of this surgery is that it does not leave any scar or perforation on the patient and recovery period of the patient is shortened with no surgical complications.”
