Alarming Hernia Cases Operated In Yaounde

By Leocadia Bongben

Out of the a hundred surgical cases identified in Mengong, Yaounde, 58 operations were carried out with the most alarming being those of hernia.

Lymphoma patient undergoing operation

This followed the Operation Outreach Patients activities that took place at the Mengong District Hospital last week.According to Dr. Emmanuel Tatapong, the coordinator of the operation financed with money meant for 60th anniversary Israeli National Day, there were rampant cases of hernia some of which were chronic.

In addition, there was a case of lymphoma which is an accumulation of fats in a particular area, Tatapong said.Besides, the surgical cases, 108 gynaecological cases that had to do with pelvic inflammations, manifested by abdominal pains and discharge were equally diagnosed.

Two hundred dental extractions were also conducted and of the 300 patients who presented themselves for voluntary screening, 54 were HIV positive. The only setback was the fact that cataract operation cases identified for people with eye problems could not be carried out.

Tatapong explained that the ophthalmologic team was helpless because cataract operations were not programmed, but indicated that there are plans to go back to Mengong.The next Outreach Patients activities are billed for November/December during the dry season for Baksssi. The programme was initially billed for last February but it was disturbed by the unrest that swept across the country.

Other operations are scheduled for Dikinimiki, Mvenge and some parts of Edea.Given that Cameroon has severe health problems, Tatapong said the only way the NGO Hope Solidarity contributes its quota is through partnership with the government, individual sister NGOs and diplomatic missions such as the Israeli Embassy.

He said 80 percent of the funds for the Outreach activities come from contributions from members and from the two Hope Solidarity health centres in Yaoundé and Bagolan.The gain of Hope Solidarity in reaching out to patients is the joy it derives in postponing deaths, Tatapong said, adding that the Outreach programme is equally meant to demystify surgery which is rather to expensive in hospitals.

He said with local anaesthesia, the operations are carried out and the patients can walk back home afterwards.Tatapong, who benefited from an Israeli Embassy-sponsored training on care for HIV/AIDS children, expressed the need for care to be holistic in such a way that even without drugs the patient is comforted.

The key themes of the training, he said, centred on perceiving HIV/AIDS patients not as victims of circumstances, but as treatable infections and the provision of psycho-social care.