Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The medical practitioner who performed surgery on the late 12-year-old Adebola Akin-Bright at the Obitoks Hospital in the Alimosho area of Lagos State, Dr Abayomi Baiyewu, has been described as a quack surgeon.
The Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee with the mandate to investigate the circumstances that led to the disappearance of Adebola’s small intestine, Mr Noheem Adams, said the doctor was not qualified to carry out the exercise.
Adebola died on Tuesday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where he was receiving treatment after he underwent surgery two times at Obitoks, a private hospital.
He was about to be flown abroad for an intestine transplant when he breathed his last.
A few hours before his demise, the Lagos Assembly called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to provide funds for the treatment outside the country.
While thanking Mr Sanwo-Olu for his effort during the period the boy was being treated at LASUTH, the Speaker of the state parliament, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, directed that a letter conveying the condolence message of the House be sent to the family.
He also asked the Clerk, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to write to the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, to arrest Mr Baiyewu.
The Speaker further asked the committee to look into other grey areas, including inviting officials of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) which has the law-backed responsibility to monitor private hospitals operating in the State.
He asked the committee to review the extant law so as to know if it should be amended just as he said private hospitals can be made to always report their activities to the government at all times.
The ad-hoc Chair informed his colleagues on Thursday that Mr Baiyewu is not a surgeon but only relied on his experience as a medical doctor to operate the boy.
He also said the doctor, whose testimonies were recorded, told the committee that he did not carry out any medical examination on the boy before the first surgery which he did himself, adding that he only relied on the report from a hospital the patient was first taken to.
According to the lawmaker, after the medical practitioner performed the first surgery, the boy continued to complain about stomach pain and was taken back to Obitoks Hospital where Mr Baiyewu carried out another round of surgery by himself.
Following more complications, the deceased was taken to LASUTH, where it was confirmed that part of his intestine was missing.
The lawmaker said as a doctor, Mr Baiyewu should have taken the excised part of the boy’s body to a pathological department for a test, but that he told the committee that the body parts were mistakenly discarded” and was planning for a third surgery before the boy was taken to LASUTH.
