19-Year-Old Accident Victim Survives Emergency Brain Surgery in Abia

19-Year-Old Accident Victim Survives Emergency Brain Surgery in Abia

A 19-year-old motorcycle accident victim has undergone emergency brain surgery at the Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Umuahia after severe bleeding put pressure on his brain.

The patient was rushed to the hospital on Sunday, October 4, following the accident and was reportedly brought in a deep coma.

Medical examinations showed massive bleeding inside his skull, with the blood putting pressure on the brainstem and making immediate surgery necessary.

Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed the development on Tuesday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting in Umuahia.

The Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, said the patient’s Glasgow Coma Scale score stood at six out of 15 on arrival before later dropping to five.

He explained that transferring the patient to another hospital could have placed his life at greater risk because of the severity of his condition.

The medical team therefore carried out a four-hour emergency operation at the Abia Specialist Hospital, evacuating more than 100 millilitres of blood clot from the patient’s brain.

The patient was later moved to the Intensive Care Unit, where he has reportedly started moving his limbs and is receiving further treatment.

Uche said the successful operation was possible because the hospital now has the facilities and specialist manpower required to handle complex neurosurgical cases.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu, described the procedure as the facility’s first major brain surgery and said its success showed the hospital’s growing capacity for specialised care. (Vanguard News⁠)

Meanwhile, Kanu disclosed that the Abia State Government had paid N502.1 million as counterpart funding under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

He said the payment would support continued access to healthcare services for vulnerable residents under the scheme.

The commissioner also announced that specialised equipment for trauma care, including brain, spine and orthopaedic procedures, was being attracted to the state through collaboration with a Swedish organisation.

He said the state was also expanding specialist healthcare services as part of efforts to improve treatment for complex medical conditions within Abia.