LUTH, kidney patient differ on alleged wrong operation

Sets up breast cancer clinic

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, has denied the allegation made by a patient of the hospital, Fumilayo Oniyelu, who according to a newspaper report was wrongly operated on.

Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode in his reaction to the allegation, described it as false and untrue, saying, “it was not the surgery that caused her kidney failure, it was her condition of severe pre-eclampsia.”

Meanwhile, the hospital has commissioned a Breast Cancer Clinic to provide services at the hospital premises.

However, The Guardian in a telephone interview with the patient’s husband, Mr. Gbenga Oniyelu, explained that, hitherto the surgery, his wife was in good condition and could urinate by herself very well.

According to him, his wife was diagnosed of having acute kidney infection five days after the surgery, and she was dialyzed. “I expected her to get well after, but rather, we have continued treatments here and there.”

The husband admitted signing a consent form for the surgery, but denied that he was carried along by LUTH through the process of the surgery and on the condition of his wife’s kidney, as stated in a statement by LUTH.

He continued, “along the line, my wife was diagnosed of kidney failure, we did not understand, so we decided to go to a gynaecologist at a private hospital, and it was revealed to us that the surgery was not supposed to be done through the navel and that was the reason for the predicament,” he lamented.

However, Prof Bode in a chat with journalists, explained that it was true his wife, Funmilayo Oniyelu was admitted into LUTH twice, but each time, she came without being booked with an emergency life-threatening complication of pregnancies from some other hospitals.

According to the CMD, Funmilayo was first referred to the teaching hospital in 2008 from a private hospital in her eighth month of second pregnancy with severe hypertension and 2+proteinuria and with reference to reports from that hospital; she had the condition, four months earlier before her referral to LUTH.

Bode further said, “Funmilayo after eight years was again referred back from the same Sentinel Hospital, Isolo, through our Accident and Emergency Centre with a severe case of pre-eclampsia with drainage of liquor at 36, blood pressure of 170/120mmgHg and a double foetal heartbeat.”

Consultant Nephrologist, Dr. Lara Mabayoje, who was part of the experts that handled Funmilayo’s case, pointed out that she had the kidney failure the first time she came to LUTH in 2008 with pre-eclampsia and hypertension that damaged her kidney. “She didn’t come back for follow-up treatment, only for her to report again with pregnancy and 3+ proteinuria, which shows she is at the end stage.”

Gbenga, who admitted to his wife having a caesarean section (CS) at the teaching hospital in 2008, denied any knowledge of her being diagnosed of kidney infection then. “She was there that year, but was discharged three weeks after the CS was performed. So to say she did not come back for follow-up is untrue, there was nothing of such,” he maintained.

He however, told our correspondent that, “I was the one who took her to LUTH last year (2015) during her labour, though she had high blood pressure, she was okay, but I didn’t realise she was bleeding, until she was moved down from the vehicle into the theatre,” Gbenga noted.

Gbenga, who said his wife was sleeping, lamented that it was untrue Dr. Mabayoje explained his wife’s condition to them: “ they did not tell us anything,” he said.

Mabayoje, who is the Head of Dialyses Centre, LUTH, disclosed that she was at the hospital for her most recent dialyses on February 24, 2016, which Gbenga agreed to, noted that the little kidney remaining in her was not working for her alone but for the baby as well, So, the kidney eventually packed up and the baby died.

The kidney expert said, she didn’t get proper treatment in between the pregnancies and then having the last pregnancy on an already bad kidney was risky.

“To say a wrong operation was done on her was shocking, because “though depressed, I explained everything that happened to her after the surgery and her condition and the reason was known to her too,” she added.

The CMD, while expressing his delight at the positive impact set by the executive director, Run for A Cure Africa (RFCA), Ebele Mbanugo with support from other groups, said that the facility will help in reducing the burden of moving to different department for treatment because it has provided all sections needed for complete treatment.

“It will fast-track treatment, make it easier, reduces the burden of moving from one department to another and there are other specialists who will support the patients emotionally when she has had her chemotherapy in one room and so many other facilities that they would have gone to different places to obtain are obtainable now under one roof.”

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, RUN for A Cure Africa (RFCA) Breast Cancer Foundation, Ebele Mbanugo at the commissioning, explained that: “The essence of today is that we are celebrating International Women’s Day by commissioning the first ever Breast Cancer clinic in Lagos and unarguably in Nigeria.

A place where women can have uninterrupted treatment for breast cancer and any issue of the breast.”
Mbanugo, who was inspired to set up this facility after the death of her mother who had died of same killer disease two months ago, explained that they saw the needs to set up the facility for women to have proper treatment of the disease.

Speaking about the challenges faced in setting up the clinic, the executive director explained that they have had supports from some organisations like the management of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Breast team of LUTH, ExxonMobil and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).

“What I come to realise is that God can work through one person to affect so many lives and you might think that whatever you are doing might not be affected but it is. Whatever it is we are doing is working, we are helping people and anybody out there will just say there is nothing too small for you to do. Do not think anything you do is insignificant but you would not know how you are affecting somebody.”