By Yinka Shokunbi
Chika recovering after the surgery Photo: Kunle Ajayi
Four years ago, 40-year-old Pauline Edokpaye, who had lived in Badagry for six years, began to notice some swelling around her neck. She was uncomfortable, but did not understand what it was all about until she visited the General Hospital, Badagry, and was told it is called goitre, a neck swelling resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland.
“Since then, I’d visited many other doctors who prescribed medications and I have also seen native doctors who gave me things to drink. But I never saw any improvement until last December when I attended the Health Mission and I was discovered and selected as one of the beneficiaries for surgery”, Pauline told our correspondent.
Pauline would however have to wait for a while until she put to bed before her surgery can be carried out.
For three years, Chika Ahamefule, 37, had also lived with the swelling that she sees as “a reproach for me and my family”.
She did not understand how it all started, but all she realised, according to her, was that her voice began to change and the once beautiful Church chorister was no longer able to sing, “because my voice had changed and it cracks a lot with some vibration that rings to my ears”.
Chika became one of the first set of 43 beneficiaries, who have had their enlarged thyroid removed throw surgery last Monday.
It is still not certain what are the other causes of the profound large population of people with goitre in a local setting as found in Ajara Community, Badagry, said Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris, in his welcome address at the flag off of the surgical intervention going on at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
According to the governor, Babatunde Fashola, who kicked off the programme, “we became touched by the plight of these people who do not even understand their situation and have decided to help them find out the root cause of the problem and proffer lasting solution.
“As a preliminary, we are offering free surgical intervention and henceforth all health missions shall include goitre screening across the state and free surgery as well”, he announced.
According to the commissioner, the discovery of the goitre community in Ajara was made possible by the Medical Mission, which took place last December that led to the large turn-out of people with neck swellings among local residents who came seeking medical intervention.
He added: “Consequently, the ministry constituted a team of experts led by Consultant Surgeon, Dr Bolaji Oludara; Consultant Endocrinologist, Dr Wale Ajala; State Epidemiologist, Dr Ismail Abdu-Salam, and Consultant Clinician, Dr Adedokun, to carry out an on-the spot prevalence study and draw out possible intervention programme.
“The initial finding showed that occurrence of this alarming number of neck swellings in an isolated region and because of the physical and financial burden to the local residents of referring these patients to secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities, it became necessary to develop a comprehensive strategy that will offer an effective and holistic approach, whose impact will be felt in the long term”.
Speaking on the initial findings, Lead Consultant Surgeon, Dr Oludara, revealed that a selective, specialised medical mission for the patients which took place between March 10 and 14 found the prevalence of simple goitre in the community with three testing positive to toxic goitre.
He revealed that the disease which is the enlargement of the thyroid gland often due to iodine deficiency or blockade of iodine production by certain diets which inhibits iodine to the body was found prevalent among women in the age bracket of 30 and 59 but mostly within ages 40 and 49 with the oldest patient found to be 62 years and living with the condition for 45 years.
He warned that untreated simple or toxic goitre could lead to heart diseases and eventual death.
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