Nigerian pediatric surgeon, Professor Oluyinka Olutoye, is making the headlines in the United States and around the world for his success after performing a rare surgical operation.
Professor Olutoye, alongside his surgeon partner carried out the delicate surgery on a 23 weeks old foetus who was removed from the mother’s womb, operated upon and returned to the womb to heal and continue to grow until the baby girl was born at 36 weeks.
The baby suffered from a tumor known as ‘sacrococcygeal teratoma’, a tumor that develops before birth and grows from a baby’s coccyx, the tailbone.
Research says it is found more often in girls than boys, and occurs in one out of every 35,000 births.
Doctor Olutoye received his medical degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state south west Nigeria and his Ph.D. in anatomy from Virginia Commonwealth University In Richmond, Virginia in the United States.
He shared his experience from this rare surgical feat and suggestions on how Nigeria can harness the talents that abound in the country’s medical space.
