Fistula Foundation Nigeria (FFN), an NGO, in collaboration with UN Population Fund (UNFPA) with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has commenced free repair surgery on 50 Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) patients in Sokoto.
VVF is an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina that results in continuous and unremitting urinary incontinence.
The condition is among the most distressing complications of gynecologic and obstetric procedures.
The common causes of VVF are obstructed labour, early marriage, poverty, and women’s limited control over the use of family resources.
The condition can cause a lot of discomfort, and if left untreated, it may cause serious bacterial infection, which may result in sepsis, a dangerous condition that can lead to low blood pressure, organ damage or even death.
However, the condition can be reversed and repaired through surgery.
The FFN Director, Mr Musa Isa said in Sokoto on Wednesday that the repair surgery, scheduled for between August 15 and 19, would be carried out by a team of specialised doctors.
He added that the team, including auxiliary workers have so far performed the surgery on 13 patients and hope to do more as 50 patients are being targeted.
He explained that 73 patients had already been screened, saying that the exercise is ongoing at the Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital in Sokoto, a VVF treatment centre and urged fistula patients from any part of the country to access the centre for treatment.
Isa, who said that a patient from Niger Republic and three from Lagos State are among the patients to undergo the ongoing free surgery, explained that VVF is treatable, and that women living with the condition should not be scared or ashamed, as it can be reversed.
He thanked the government and people of Canada for making it possible to have VVF treatment in the country through the Global Affairs Canada, the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada’s diplomatic and consular relations and humanitarian assistance.
He also thanked UNFPA Nigeria for the support, as well as the Sokoto and federal government for their respective support toward ensuring the success of the exercise.
Some patients who registered and are awaiting surgery (names withheld as they are below 18 years) are 15 years old, another 15 years old and another, who is 13 years, expressed joy for the opportunity and thanked the sponsors of the free surgery.
The 15-year-old from Wababe community in Dange Shuni local government area said that she contracted VVF during her first delivery at home as she was married off at the age of 13.
She said she is the only wife to her husband, Hamisu because he is a young man and a farmer, while her father is also a farmer and her mother is a housewife without any business.
Also waiting for the surgery, the second 15-year-old said that she contracted VVF as a result of an accident when a wood used to tie small animals for domestic livestock got hooked in her vagina when she was nine years old and could not access proper treatment.
The 13-year-old said she got VVF during childbirth after a local barber carried out the traditional cutting of unwanted flesh from her vagina called Yankan Gurya.
She added that it was after the cutting that she continued to leak urine without control and without medication until some relatives forced the father to bring her to the Maryam Abacha Hospital, Sokoto, for the free repair surgery.
