Doctors at Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi Sub-County of Taita-Taveta have completed the region’s first total hip replacement surgery.
The surgery has been hailed as a historic milestone in the treatment and management of orthopedic problems.
The first procedure was performed on 67-year-old Japhason Mashanga of Kajire village, who had been bedridden for many weeks following an accident that resulted in a shattered hip.
This complex four-hour operation required a team of four surgeons and a support team of five extra medics, including nurses and anesthetists. The chief orthopedic surgeons were Mustapha Masai and Abedi Mbarak.
Masai said the team opted for a total hip replacement procedure owing to the advanced age of the patient.
The successful procedure has excited the health officials in the region who are pointing out that such breakthroughs are testimony to the capacity of the staff and health facilities in the region.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health Services John Mwangeka hailed the operation as one of its kind that would alleviate the suffering of families travelling to Nairobi and Mombasa to seek such services.
He added that the hospitals had the capacity to successfully conduct complicated procedures at a cost that was affordable to the local residents.
Mwangeka further stated that the hospitals were committed to provide quality services at minimum cost to shield the patients from incurring huge costs and urged residents to enroll with NHIF to cater for the cost of treatment.
“This procedure can cost as much as half a million shillings in some private facilities but we did it for slightly less than a third of that amount,” he said.
Moi County Referral Hospital has lately made significant strides in provision of health services that were earlier unavailable in the region.
Currently, the facility is offering biopsy and chemotherapy services for oncology patients. The facility is also conducting major eye surgeries after operationalising of the first eye clinic in the county. The referral hospital also offers full dialysis services for patients with kidney problems.
