After successfully separating a pair of conjoined twins at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, The Fatboy Show presenters Olive Najjuma and James Onen, commonly known as Fatboy, have asked the government to prioritize the health sector.
“Ugandan doctors have said that they have the personnel that can do very complicated surgeries. That instead of people taking patients abroad, maybe they could call on the power to fund these hospitals even more, on condition that they have the resources they need such as equipment to carry out these surgeries,” said Olive.
Rabecca Nkunda the 20 year old mother and resident of Kakooba in Mbarara City gave birth to the twins at Ruharo Mission Hospital before being transferred to Mbarara Regional Referral hospital where the surgery was done and was the first of its kind.
According to a pediatrician Dr. Oyania Felix, the infants’ intestines were exposed before the surgery, with their urinary bladders also conjoined. The complicated nature of the surgery made them come up with a team of different specialists to help in the surgery since most of the organs were joined together.
These included three pediatric surgeons, a general surgeon, radiologists, specialists in urology, anesthesia, one in gastro-enterology, nurses and midwives. After an 8 hour long surgery, the children were successfully separated, each weighing 3.5 kgs. The surgery done free of charge is estimated to have costed 20 million shillings if it were done in a private hospital.
Fatboy, impressed by the happy ending of the story, said that, “I think it's therefore important that the government prioritizes doctors and the health sector, giving them the tools they need, paying them well, and motivating them. Instead of spending money on lavish birthday parties, maybe we can direct that money to more worthwhile endeavors such as supporting our doctors.”
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive and Sarah every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.
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