Kenyans requiring shoulder surgery need not travel abroad as the service is locally available.
Surgeons at Nairobi Hospital recently performed six shoulder replacement operations on patients from Mombasa, Meru, Nairobi and Uganda using 10 new implant kits.
The complex procedure that involves the replacement of damaged joint bones with artificial implants was the first-of-its-kind in the country and the region.
“A Kenyan who needed such a surgery would have to travel to Europe, Asia or North America or wait for doctors visiting from oversees holding camps on unpredictable dates,” Dr Timothy Byakika told the Sunday Nation.
REPLACEMENT SURGERIES
Though most cases are attributed to sports injuries and ageing, the shoulder joint replacement is also performed on people with other conditions such as arthritis.
“The procedure entails replacing the affected worn out or severely fractured parts of the shoulder joint with implants in different fashions,” Dr Byakika said. There are three types of replacement surgeries.
The most common is the total shoulder replacement. It involves the replacement of the ball at the top of the humerus with a metallic one. The socket is then covered with a plastic surface.
A partial replacement is where only the ball gets filled in while the reverse shoulder replacement is done when a previous shoulder operation yielded no results.
PAIN
In the reverse surgery, the metal ball gets attached to the patient’s shoulder bones and a socket is implanted at the top of the arm.
Indian shoulder replacement specialist Ashish Babhulkar was invited to perform the operations at the hospital during a workshop attended by more than 50 Kenyan orthopaedic specialists.
Nairobi Hospital chief executive Gordon Odundo emphasised the significance of the invasive technology in shoulder replacement surgery in Kenya.
“We are delighted to introduce this technology. Our hospital remains committed to providing quality healthcare and ensuring that our team of orthopaedic specialists has access to advanced technology,” Mr Odundo said.
Although the surgery is less common than knee or hip replacement, Dr Byakika said many Kenyans need it to relieve pain.
“The number is larger in hospitals where analgesics and splinting are the most common forms of treatment. This leaves many people in pain,” he said.
The operation takes an hour or two, depending on the severity of the condition.
