The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ojo, says it has made advancement in providing surgical solutions of microvascular free tissue transfer for head and neck reconstruction.
Dr Eyituoyo Okoturo, Head, Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of the Dental Department, LASUTH, said the hospital was currently the only one in Nigeria, and one of the two in Africa providing this mode of treatment.
Okoturo made this known in a statement by Ms Oluwaseyi Adewale, Head, Public Affairs Department of LASUTH, on Tuesday in Lagos.
He explained that the technique involves the transfer of a distant tissue (donor tissue) along with its vascular supply to a recipient site (defect site) of the same patient.
Okoturo said, “It re-establishes donor tissue blood flow from the recipient blood vessels by microvascular re-anastomosis of both sets of blood vessels (donor and recipient arteries and veins) with the use of an operating microscope.’’
The microvascular free tissue transfer is used for complex composite tissue defects in the previously treated fields, in particular after treatment of malignant disease.
According to Okoturo, most malignant tumors of the head and neck cannot be adequately treated without extensive surgery that leaves large disfiguring defects.
“Reconstruction has evolved over the last century from the mere filling up of defects with local or regional flaps to microvascular free tissue transfer to ensure precise facial contour and restoring of function,” he said.
The expert said that the technique provides the advantage of precise reconstruction of defects that ordinarily were not feasible with local flaps.
“Because of the technical difficulty associated with today’s facial reconstruction, it is now usually assisted with the use of computer-aided designs – computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) for bespoke reconstruction,” he said.
Okoturo said that LASUTH was not left out in the advancement of this cutting-edge practice.
He said that the hospital would continue to make giant strides in improving lives with its vision to be a centre of excellence in healthcare delivery.
“LASUTH has over the years provided high quality tertiary healthcare services to the patients across the country and beyond.
“It is no gainsaying that the teaching hospital, which is now positioned as a quaternary hospital, has continually promoted the development of cutting-edge surgical expertise to deliver the best possible outcome,” he said.
Okoturo said that several high-end health solutions had been delivered by the hospital, thus saving many lives and enhancing the quality of living
