Barring any unforeseen adverse circumstances, burns patients will have the opportunity of being treated with artificial skin developed in the laboratory at the Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital in Port Harcourt.
The National Project Coordinator for the International Trauma and Critical Care Centre, Manager of the Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital, Dr Sidney Ibeanusi disclosed this in an interview with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt last week.
According to Ibeanusi, a research team from the hospital is working with their German partners, adding that the process of developing artificial skin in the laboratory has reached an advanced stage and their efforts could materialize before the end of this year.
“ We’ve gone to an advanced stage, and we know that before the end of this year, we might be able to bring it to the mainstream,” he said, stressing that apart from saving the lives of burns victims’, the hospital would be able to export artificial skin to other parts of the country.
“ If we’ re able to do that, the number of persons that die from burns will be reduced. We have sent people on training and process has already started. We just need to fine tune it and once that is done, we will be able to export artificial skin to other parts of Nigeria, ‘’ he said.
Ibeanusi said with government’s collaboration and partnership from the giant multinationals operating in Rivers State, the tertiary medical facility will be able to provide sophisticated care to residents in the state at subsidized rate.
“ If we do have the support of both the government and the organized private sector, we offer ourselves to provide the services at a reasonable rate”, he promised.
The trauma specialist also disclosed that the hospital had undertaken about 10 cases of successful brain surgeries since its inception, adding that the latest was that of a 75-year old woman who had a tumor removed from her brain only weeks ago.
“ The peculiar thing about this one is that this is a tumor and the tumor wasquite a large size and had already started causing problem for the patient. The patient was actually billed to travel out ofthe country but the before the processes of visa procurement and flight arrangements, her condition was deteriorating and the family opted that action could be taken locally,’’ he explained.
“We have done about 10 cases of opening the head. We have done quite a lot for patients with stroke a and head injuries. Now, we’ re doing for tumors”,he said, disclosing that those who did the procedure were all Port Harcourt-based Nigerian surgeons but for the imaging doctor.
Ibeanusi regretted that Nigerians were always quick to rush out of the country for medical solution s ever through they could be obtained locally, and attributed the development to both lack of adequate information and confidence in the expertise of their compatriots and he domestic health care delivery system.

Opaka Dokubo