Nigeria has the capacity to perform complex liver surgeries that can save the lives of patients with liver cancer, a professor of surgery at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Professor Olusegun Alatise, has said.
Alatise, who is also Secretary-General of the Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) and Vice Chairman of the West African College of Surgeons’ Surgical Oncology Programme, said early diagnosis, timely referral, and specialist training were essential to improving survival.
He spoke during the Elevate Oncology Webinar Series, where he delivered a lecture titled, “Liver Surgery in Nigeria: Lessons Learned from a Decade of Experience.”
He identified hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer, as a major indication for liver surgery in Nigeria, linking its prevalence to hepatitis B and C infections and aflatoxin contamination in food.
Alatise estimated that about 20 million Nigerians were living with hepatitis B, lamenting that approximately 95 per cent of patients seen by his team presented late.
He attributed late presentation to poor awareness, inadequate screening, stigma, healthcare costs, and delays in referral. He also decried the shortage of gastroenterologists, saying Nigeria had fewer than 200 specialists managing the country’s substantial hepatitis burden.
He urged physicians to refer patients with suspected liver cancer for surgical assessment promptly rather than waiting until hepatitis B treatment was completed, warning that tumours could continue growing during the delay.
ALSO READ: Court declares Nafiu Bala Gombe’s purported resignation letter submitted by ADC fabricated
According to him, advances in imaging, surgical techniques, anaesthesia and intensive care have made complex liver operations safer, provided patients are properly selected and sufficient healthy liver tissue is preserved.
Reflecting on the experience of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), he said its liver surgery programme started in 2015 but gained renewed momentum in 2019 through international collaboration.
The centre has performed approximately 80 liver operations, with hepatocellular carcinoma and gallbladder cancer among the common indications, and with a reported complication rate of about five per cent.
Alatise cited the successful removal of a liver tumour measuring approximately 30 by 30 centimetres from a 65-year-old woman.
He also recounted the successful treatment of a two-year-old child with hepatoblastoma, a rare liver cancer affecting young children, who underwent extensive surgery after chemotherapy.
He said the outcomes demonstrated that advanced liver surgery could be performed in Nigeria with appropriate expertise and multidisciplinary support.
To address the shortage of specialists, he announced the PrecisionHPB initiative, established in collaboration with the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. The programme includes a six-month specialist fellowship arrangement designed to train surgeons who will return to strengthen liver surgery services in Nigeria.
Alatise also urged religious organisations to incorporate hepatitis B and C screening into major gatherings, noting that early detection could prevent many patients from developing advanced liver disease.
“We should pray, but God also gives us wisdom,” he said, advocating preventive screening alongside spiritual activities.
He called for more hospitals to develop liver surgery capacity and urged Nigerians to have confidence in local specialist services.
“Liver surgery can be done in Nigeria. It is not only in India that it can be done,” he said.
WATCH TOP VIDEOS FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE TV