How We Treated Over 500 Fibroids Patients…

• Without Surgery In 3 Yrs

• Dr. ABAYOMI AJAYI Explains

Whenever the option of Fibroid Surgery is mentioned to patients who seek for treatment of Fibroid, the fear of its aftermath scares them away due to the many sardonic stories, experiences heard and the risks attached to going under the knife just to get rid of fibroids.

Research shows that most people who have fibroid removal surgery have no serious complications, but they may experience pain or bleeding following surgery and will need time to recover. But a small number of people do face serious complications. The specific complications and their likelihood depend on the type of surgery that a person chooses, but they can include anaesthesia-related risks, infections, heavy bleeding, failed surgery, regrowth of fibroids, damage to the uterus or other surrounding organs and in the case of morcellation, spreading cancer.

The narrative of the painful experience of undergoing Fibroid surgery is gradually becoming a thing of the past in Nigeria thanks to the Nordica Fibroid Care Centre with its introduction of HIFU technology for Fibroids treatment in 2021.

HIFU which means High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound is a non-invasive way to treat uterine fibroids. It uses real-time ultrasound and high-intensity ultrasound waves to generate localized heat to target individual fibroids to destroy the cells specifically. Using this treatment method, in conjunction with image guidance, the physician can heat and destroy the fibroid tissue without damaging nearby tissue or the tissues that the beam passes through on its way to the target.

The technology was first introduced in 2002, at the University of Oxford, UK and ever since it has been introduced in over 28 countries and regions worldwide, successfully treating over 150,000 cases of benign and malignant tumours.

Few days ago, Nordica Fibroid Care Centre in Lagos, Nigeria marked 3 years of adopting HIFU technology in the treatment of its Fibroids and within this period, it has successfully recorded over 500 patients, many of whom have now become nursing mothers, always eager to give their testimonies of how smooth and seamless the treatment went. At the all-white party affair marking the milestone achieved just within 3 year, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, the MD/CEO of Nordica Fertility Centre, the parent body of Nordica Fibroids Care Centre expressed his heartfelt joy of a fulfilled dream which he had been nursing as far back as 28 years ago. He spoke at length about the misconception between Fibroids and infertility, not leaving out how the novel HIFU machine has been helpful in making fibroids treatment seamless, leaving treated patients healthy and smiling home with sweet stories to tell. Below are excerpts:

“I’m not going to read from a prepared speech, I’m going to talk from my heart. And, I’ll start with a story. I became a gynaecologist in 1994. And something happened in 1996. Somebody died after a myomectomy. And that changed my trajectory. I started thinking about, is it possible to treat fibroids without having to go through these And because I’m a gynaecologist, I knew what it meant to do myomectomy. People think it’s a small feat, especially in a country like ours, where there’s so many things that are missing. Very few hospitals really agree to doing that surgery not because the doctors are not good, but for what can go wrong, and the kind of care that might be required.

“Even in the UK, people die after myomectomy. So it’s not in Nigeria alone, it also happens everywhere. Only that the facilities in our country are horrible. I’m sorry to say that. So, this evening, it is like a fulfilment for me, of a dream that I’ve had since 1996 that we can now say, 500 women, and counting, have done the treatment without surgery. For me, it’s more than what we are actually celebrating. And, even when we had our first IVF baby, I don’t think it got me this excited as I am today.If we have done 500, I say look, at least we would have saved the life of five women. If we have done 500 procedures, we’ll have saved the lives of at least five women. And that for me, you cannot quantify in Naira and Kobo.

“And I was also lucky that I got this company from China, to be tested, helping us to put this technology together. Yes, we have doctors now in Nigeria, but they still come, to check on us, to see that we’re doing what we should be doing. And I think, we also, intend that over time some other people will also join this large IT family. It’s a big family, actually it’s just that we are just catching up, in West Africa and in Africa. It’s been in South Africa for about 10 years, it’s been in Egypt, we have the third one. Tanzania joined, I think last December, and there are some other countries that are trying to see how they can get the machine.

“What I want us to look at is that; what exactly is the quality of life. Most times we have thought that, when doctors say you have Fibroid, it means you can’t get pregnant, but we all know that that’s not true. There are many people who get pregnant with Fibroid. So, it’s not every Fibroid that needs to be operated. So, Fibroid is more of a quality of life thing, than a fertility thing. The number of infertilities that are caused by Fibroid are about 2-3% of the cases. But it can be associated with infertility, not causing infertility.

“There are many reasons why a couple is not able to get pregnant. And so, also, that’s one of the things, also, we need to teach, that after, they are done HIFU, if you have not done to see, why you have not been able to get pregnant, before. So, the two of them are different. Fibroid and infertility are different. The treatments are different. Of course, you will notice some of the babies that patients have had, after HIFU. And that’s also, very reassuring, that it does not affect your fertility. It restores your quality of life and does not affect fertility. And that is, also, great, as far as I’m also concerned.

“One other thing, I need to mention, is the number of people that are required to do HIFU treatment. You may look at a typical theatre, there will be at least one doctor, the operator, there will be an assistant, there will be a nurse. There will be an anaesthetist, there will be a nurse assistant, there will be about 5-6 people, highly qualified to begin with. For HIFU, you don’t need anaesthetist. What is required is a doctor, a nurse, and, probably somebody to run around when need be. That’s all that is required. And, the good thing is that the patient will look good.

“Some of the complications that come from fibroid surgery, it’s not because of the surgery, it’s because of the time it takes to fully recover. That is also a risk factor, for people to have, to form blood clots in their blood vessels. And sometimes, even when everything has been well handled, the surgery has gone well, there was a story of a woman who actually went to the UK to do a myomectomy. She had a successful surgery. After the surgery, she was discharged as she was recuperated, she was okay. She decided to go and shop, went to Oxford Street, and it was in one of the shops that she just held her chest, and she was, out of breath, before they got her to the hospital, she was dead. So, this, all these things happen, and that’s why, I think HIFU is a method, that we need to embrace in a country like Nigeria, where our good medical doctors have even left the country for green pastures.

“So, HIFU treatment of fibroid is a method, I think we need, but I’m sure over time, this will become more popular and better. I must recognise the team that has made this possible. If you are here, Fibroid care centre people, just stand up for recognition so that we can thank you for the good work that you have done, in the last three years. Thank you so much, for being, for being part of this. In the beginning some people saw it as madness.

“I thought of this technology, for about 10 years, before I decided, that we could, use it in Nigeria, so, for me, it’s a, it’s a different story. So that’s why I say for me, it’s a fulfilment of a dream, and so thank you, very much, for taking out your time, to come and celebrate, with us. And that’s why we’re wearing white. Someone asked me that why did we call it a white Saturday, and I said it’s because the people that are wearing white if they had fibroids, before, have overcome it. People who, have fibroids, don’t like wearing white, why, because they can bleed at any time. So, if you can wear white, it means that you have overcome fibroids and that’s why we are celebrating.