A team of medical specialists has successfully performed a knee-joint replacement surgery at TMJ Hospital in Dar es Salaam. The surgery is said to be a significant milestone in the current struggle by Tanzanian medical experts to perform complicated surgeries instead of sending them abroad.
“Tanzanian doctors have the unique potential in performing complicated surgeries. If supported they can make wonders,” said Dr Sylvester Faya, who led a team of medical experts in performing the first knee joint replacement surgery.
This is the first total knee-joint replacement surgery to be performed at the hospital, according to Dr Faya, who told reporters at the hospital on Sunday, when announcing the successful surgeries.
“We will continue providing such services. We want to end a growing tendency of sending such complicated cases abroad. The surgeries we have performed are an indication that Tanzanian doctors are capable and can do wonders,” he said.
TMJ Managing Director Dr Tayabal Jafferji told reporters that the 21-year-old hospital had “joined a league of hospitals in the country that can perform such complicated surgeries as hip-knee replacement operations.”
Dr Jafferji explained that hip and knee operations belonged to the category of tertiary surgeries and that the first total knee joint replacement surgery at the hospital was performed on November 20 this year by a Tanzanian doctor, Sylvester Faya, and his theatre staff.
He said that the second knee joint surgery was done on November 23 this year and the third total knee joint surgery on December 2 at TMJ Hospital.
The director further explained that the hospital would offer post surgical care with the allied health care professionals. Each patient was charged 6.2m/- for a single operation.
The managing director stressed that “this is not the first knee joint replacement surgery to be done in the country. The first knee joint replacement surgery in Tanzania was carried out at CCBRT in Dar es Salaam in 2004.”
He, however, said as a medical doctor in practice for 38 years in the country, he could tell that Tanzania was the only country in East Africa that had an orthopedics institute, Muhimbili Orthopedics Institute (MOI), where over 350 hip-knee replacement surgeries were performed successfully.” He stressed that there was no orthopedics institute in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda or Burundi.
The two patients, who underwent the surgeries at the TMJ Hospital included Leah John Bundala (48) from Mwanza and Jumanne Mnyamani Jumanne (64) from Dar es Salaam.
Both of them commended the medical specialists for successfully operating them and they expressed their heartfelt gratitude too to TMJ Hospital staff.
Leah said: “I underwent a replacement surgery on knee joints on November 23 and December 2 this year. I thank God, I am doing fine.”
For his part, Jumanne said he was operated on November 20 this year on one knee joint, commending the surgery and services provided by the hospital as superb. Leah and Jumanne had been suffering from joint problems for a long time but their problems had been resolved after the successful operations.
TMJ Hospital Chief Executive Officer Parul Chhaya thanked Dr Faya and his staff. He said: “We have tirelessly worked for the successful first knee joint replacement surgery at the hospital.
I thank you (Dr Faya) and your team for meticulous planning and execution of the plans to perform the complicated surgeries.”
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN