Nigerian surgeons construct bladder for cancer patient

A team of surgeons at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, have constructed a new bladder for an 18-year-old cancer patient.

Saidu Ibrahim, a student of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, was diagnosed of having malignant cells in the tissues of his bladder.

Surgeons at the university hospital carried out a procedure that led to the removal of the bladder, and constructed a new bladder (neobladder reconstruction) to save Mr. Ibrahim’s life.

The team, which included Dr. Makama Salihu, the head of surgery, ATBUTH Bauchi, was led by Haruna Liman.
Mr. Usman told PREMIUM TIMES that the patient had a five-year history of passing blood in his urine as a result of the cancer of the bladder.

“When we evaluated Ibrahim, we discovered that he had a mass in the bladder, so he had to go through various screening such as intravenous pyelogram, (series of x-rays of the kidney, ureters and bladder), biopsy (removal of cell tissues so that they can be viewed under the microscope by a pathologist), and Cystoscopy, which is a diagnostic procedure where a hollow lighted tube is used to look inside the bladder,” he said.

“All these procedures were conducted to establish whether there were cancerous cells or not ‎in his situation, the aim was to control the tumour from spreading because there was a spread of the tumour into the pipes that link urine between the kidney and bladder”

“The aim of this procedure is to give him the best option because there is no cure for cancer. What we did for him was to control the tumour from spreading and increase his chance of survival and that we have achieved so far. The second part of the procedure was to remove the bladder and refashion a new bladder for him,”‎ he said.