Surgeons to screen children with hydrocephalus

PIUS RUGONZIBWA in Mwanza

ACUTE shortage of neuro surgeons in the country could cause a serious public health concern as the few available have launched a mission to save lives of children with hydrocephalus problems.

Such a campaign was launched here where a team of ten neuro surgeons will attend and perform operations on about 50 children with the problem out of around 200 children to be screened.

Speaking to reporters, the team leader and Acting Director General of the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI), Dr Othman Kiloloma, said the experts have resorted to conduct special camps in trying to combat the alarming reported cases in the Lake Zone.

According to him, national statistics gathered on annual basis show that out of over 4,000 children with hydrocephalus, only 1,000 are attended in hospitals, something calling for urgent intervention.

“On coming into this shocking revelation we chose to look for partners so that we can conduct a nationwide campaign particularly to regions that have much prevalence, Lake Zone being one of them,” he said.

Luckily, he said an organisation GSM Foundation agreed to the proposal and has now sponsored the camps which will see a team providing the services at the Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) for three days from.

Dr Kiloloma said so far there were only ten neuro surgeons in the country, nine at MOI and only one at BMC calling for more Doctors and Surgeons to enrol in specialised programme in order to reduce the shortage of the local experts.

The BMC Director General, Prof Kien Mteta, said around 2,000 children with hydrocephalus reports for treatment at referral hospital every year while thousands others end up dying at homes for lack of medical attention.

The good news,however, is that the hospital has now set up a special operating theatre where at least ten patients are being attended weekly. “While we try to combat the growing scourge, I would request for the expecting mothers to observe basic health tips like increasing folic acid whose deficiency is the main cause of this birth defect in children,” he said.

Apart from taking food rich in folic acid, Prof Mteta called for parents to get rid of witchcraft beliefs and rush the children in hospitals for timely intervention before it was too late to rescue their lives.

The GSM Foundation General Manager, Ms Shannon Kiwamba, said the organization chose to sponsor the campaign due to its importance and dedication showed by a team of experts. Apart from Mwanza, a team will also conduct medical services in Shinyanga, Singida, Dodoma and Morogoro.

Hydrocephalus surgery usually involves placing a mechanical shunting device into the baby’s head to help drain the extra Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) from the brain and redirect the extra fluid to another part of the body to be absorbed.