By Adamu Muhammad Dodo
* This onerous fit has adroitly added a fillip in the diadem of achievement of all members of staff of FMC Yola. Kudos to all of you as you relish over your rare fit; three successful separations of conjoined twins – Yunusa Abubakar
Prof. Auwal Muhammad Abubakar, the Medical Director FMC Yola is a Professor of Paediatric surgery who led a surgical team into one of the surgical theatres of the Centre for a surgery, which a layman could better understand as separation of twin babies that are joined together. The exercise exemplified social responsibility.
In a press conference, Saturday, held at the hospital, Prof. Auwal revealed that Grace and Mercy, the eight months old set of female omphalopagus twins, said to be delivered by Caesarean section in General Hospital Nembe, Bayelsa state on December 25, 2019, with a combined birth weight of 5.8kg, shared a single umbilical cord and were joined from the mid thorax to the mid-abdomen with a fused liver.
The twins who were earlier managed at Federal Medical Center, FMC Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, Niger-Delta before being transferred to Federal Medical Centre FMC Yola, Adamawa State, Northeast Nigeria on January 4, 2020 (23rd day of their lives), to be separated.
After six weeks of preparation, while they also added a combined weight of 15kg with an individual PCV of 45% and 48%, the conjoined twins were eventually, successfully separated on Monday, August 10, 2020, following a three-hour surgical operation.
Grace and Mercy were transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the health facility for post-operative management and having been certified fit, with the resumption of normal feeding, they were transferred to the VIP ward on the fifth day after the surgery.
Prof. Auwal the MD FMC Yola, attributed the success of the exercise to the spirit of teamwork and adequate planning, in an interview immediately after the surgery.
“You are aware that the team is a combination of different professionals; surgeons, anaesthetics, radiologists, laboratory scientists, the people managing the theatre, the cleaners, the ICT, the media, information and communication.
We’ve had several meetings and drills. We made sure that the facilities to be used were set and the medical consumables necessary for the surgery, were on ground. You see that everything worked according to plan. We successfully separated the conjoined twins,” Auwal said.
Prof Auwal has commended the Chief of Air Staff, Nigeria Air Force, Air Marshal Sadiq Baba Abubakar for airlifting the conjoined twins with their parents from Bayelsa to Adamawa state, as well as Emeka Ofor Foundation and the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas, NLNG for the donation of millions of naira worth of equipment some of which have contributed in the successful separation of the conjoined twins.
Auwal equally commended the management of the Adamawa-German Medical Center for the free diagnostic investigations.
Joining Prof Auwal, the chairman of the occasion, Sir Ahmed Joda and the board chairman of FMC Yola, Hajiya Habiba Ibrahim Umar who made a generous donation of N250, 000 to the conjoined twins and the SGF Barr. Boss Mustapha, as special guest of honour during the press conference, are agreed that what made the driving force was not only the capacity of the medical facilities but also the dedicated medical team with the right leadership and the right management.
They commended prof Auwal and the surgical team, while calling on the federal government to support and encourage by upgrading the health facility to a teaching hospital.
additionally, the Adamawa state governor, Rt Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has moved for the establishment of conjoined twins separation center in FMC Yola, considering the fact that so far, successful separations of conjoined twins were carried out three times in the centre and still counting.
Mr and Mrs Raphael Ayebaiemi thanked the medical director and the management of FMC Yola for the successful surgery, which was carried out free of charge.
“It was not only the surgery, everything is free of charge, the feeding, accommodation, everything. We remain grateful.
We’re taking this opportunity to ask the federal government to upgrade FMC Yola to a teaching hospital,” they would say.
The management of FMC Yola has presented an award of commendation to the Chief of Air Staff, Nigeria Air Force, for airlifting the conjoined twins from Bayelsa Adamawa and back.
One of the best comments on the successful separation of the conjoined twins, came from Malam Yunusa Abubakar, a lecturer with Federal Polytechnic Nassarawa. He remarked that “this onerous fit has adroitly added a fillip in the diadem of achievement of all members of staff of FMC Yola. Kudos to all of you as you
relish over your rare fit; three successful separations of conjoined twins”.
Below is the list of the surgical team:
Prof. Auwal Muhammad Abubakar- the lead surgeon/ team leader
Dr. Dr. Wabada Samuel- Consultant Paediatric Surgery
Dr. Oyinloye Adewale O- Consultant Paediatric Surgery
Dr. Sani Adamu – Consultant Paediatric Surgery
Dr. Preye Namberi (Bayelsa) – Consultant Paediatric Surgery
Dr. Christopher Rikin – Snr. Registrar
Dr. Cletus Cyril – Registrar
Dr. Mutiu Alimi – Registrar
Dr. Emmanuel Oloyede – Registrar
Dr. Musa Yuduf – House Officer
Dr. Suleiman Mohammed – House Officer
Dr. Apagu House Officer
Dr. Was in DA Bulus Consultant Pediatrician
Dr. Okosun (Bayelsa) Consultant Pediatrician
Anaesthetics:
Prof. Fola Faponle- Prof. Anaesthesia
Dr. Raji Bello- Consultant Anaesthesia
Dr. Sambo Yusuf- Consultant Anaesthesia
Dr. Jauro P. Degri- Consultant Anaesthesia
Dr. Ahmed Nuhu- Consultant Anaesthesia
Dr. Abdurrahman Mohammed- Registrar Anaesthesia
Dr. Njidda Mark – Resident Anaesthesia
Dr. Steven (Bayelsa) Registra Anesthesia
Justina Polycarp – Nursing Anaesthetic
Tanko She hu – Nursing Anaesthetic
Radiology:
Dr. Yunusa Dahiru Mohammed- Consultant Radiology
Laboratory:
Dr. Jasini James – Consultant Hematologist
Dr. Zainab Mustapha – Consultant Chemical Pathologist
Mr. Saifullahi Adamu – Scientist
Preoperative:
Mr. Babangida Njidda Assit. Chief Principal Nurse
Idris Mohammed Muye – Preoperative nurse
Bukar Kasim Wakilbe – Preop Nurse
Sad Aliyu – prep Nurse
Mr. Michael Manasseh
Mrs Serah K. Bitrus – ICU Nurse
Mrs Otto Martina – ICU Nurse
Mrs Rabi Ali – Nurse
Mrs Ramlah Aminu
Mrs Boslam Bala
Mrs Furo (Bayelsa) – Nurse
Mr. Ekanem Ekanem – Ethicon Rep
Attendants:
Dayyibu Lawan
Ridwan Faisal
Buhari Mohammed
Faisal Abubakar
Nuhu Zubairu – Oxygene Man
Drivers:
Bappa Mohammed
Auwal Yahya Mohammed
Information and Communication:
Adamu Muhammad Dodo – Head of Information and Media Relations
Yunusa Mohammed – Camera/Video editor
