The first-ever spine surgery has been successfully done in Bauchi state, after surgeons operated on a young woman with a history of severe pain in her lower back.
Both her legs were affected by her condition, said doctors who oversaw her surgery which lasted two and half hours at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.
Dr Ahidjo Kawu, a spine surgeon at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital who led the surgical team, told Daily Trust: "The patient's post operative condition is satisfactory and has begun mobilization."
Previous scans using magnetic resonance imaging confirmed defects in discs in the patient's lumbar, he said.
A separate scan showed "instability" in the 14th and 15th discs on her spine, Dr Kawu added.
Some three separate procedures were done to fix the defective spine discs with screws.
Plans for the surgery took over one month after ATBTH opened its spine surgery programme, under direction of its chief medical director, Dr Nura Alkali and with the involvement of the hospital's medical advisory council head.
Sources at the hospital said the medical firm Spine and Scoliosis provided instrument and trained staff who took part in the surgery.
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