Proud moment for Abia as state hospital performs its first brain surgery, saves 19-year-old

• Abia State Specialist Hospital has performed its first major brain surgery on a 19-year-old patient.

• The patient arrived in a deep coma with severe bleeding inside his skull that was compressing his brainstem.

• Doctors removed more than 100ml of blood clot, and the patient has since regained movement in his limbs.

Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Umuahia has carried out the state's first major brain surgery, in what officials are describing as a landmark moment for healthcare in Abia.

The development was disclosed on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, while briefing journalists on the outcome of Monday's State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti. Kanu described the surgery as part of a broader transformation under way in the state's health sector, driven by sustained investment from the Otti administration.

Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Uche, gave further details on the operation, revealing that the patient, a 19-year-old man, had arrived at the hospital in a deep coma, with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of six out of 15 that later dropped to five, a sign of severe neurological impairment.

Uche explained that the patient was bleeding heavily inside his skull, with the blood compressing his brainstem, making the situation immediately life-threatening. He said attempting to transfer the patient to another facility for treatment would likely have cost him his life.

"Because we now have facilities to undertake brain surgery, and then we have brain surgeons in the state employed by His Excellency, that surgery was done," Uche said.

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According to Uche, surgeons evacuated more than 100 millilitres of blood clot from the patient's brain during the procedure. Since then, the young man has shown signs of recovery, including regaining movement in his limbs, while continuing treatment in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.

Officials say the surgery reflects years of investment in the facility, which has undergone renovation and been equipped with specialist personnel across fields including neurology and surgical services, as part of the Otti administration's wider push to reduce Abia residents' reliance on medical treatment outside the state.