LAGOS, Nigeria — Abiodun Deborah, a distraught mother, is pleading with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to investigate the alarming disappearance of her 12-year-old son’s small intestine after a procedure at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.
The nightmare began for Abiodun when her son, Adebola Akin-Bright, was referred to LASUTH from Obitoks Medical Centre in Ileepo, Alimosho Local Government area, following complications from an earlier surgery to correct intestinal obstruction.
“Sometime in February this year, my boy started vomiting and stooling,” Abiodun recounted on Friday, August 11, 2023. “At Obitoks Medical Centre, it was discovered he had a ruptured appendix requiring surgery. After about two weeks, he seemed healthy again. But in June, stomach pains led to a second surgery for intestinal obstruction at the same center.”
However, when complications arose post-surgery, Obitoks’ Dr. Abayomi Baiyewu suggested another operation, hinting at collaboration with a teaching hospital professor.
Skeptical, Abiodun sought a transfer to LASUTH, expecting better care.
Upon arrival at LASUTH, a series of tests suggested Adebola might not require another surgery. However, when the boy’s condition worsened, surgery was deemed necessary.
To Abiodun’s horror, post-surgery feedback revealed an unsettling finding: Adebola’s small intestine was inexplicably missing.
A flabbergasted Abiodun struggled to fathom the situation, asking, “Where could a 26-feet long small intestine have vanished to?” The surgeon from Obitoks was equally baffled and questioned LASUTH’s claims, given Adebola was in their care for 27 days.
He assured the distraught family that his referral explicitly detailed his operations on the boy.
The gravity of Adebola’s condition means he cannot absorb nutrients conventionally and might depend on total parenteral nutrition, TPN, – an intravenous nutrition source.
“TPN costs about N65,000, and he requires two bags every three days. How can we sustain this?” Abiodun lamented. Moreover, prolonged TPN use might endanger Adebola’s liver, and a potential intestinal transplant isn’t available in Africa.
With desperation, Abiodun beseeches Governor Sanwo-Olu, “I am begging the Governor to save my son and also unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of his intestine for the sake of justice.”
