A team of medical experts at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) has successfully removed a brain tumour, with a diameter of about 12 centimetres, from a pregnant woman.

The feat, which was achieved in conjunction with a visiting neuro- surgeon, Professor Wale Sulaiman, took place last week after an operation that lasted 13 hours.

This was disclosed by Sulaiman in a lecture he delivered at the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin on the topic, “Team-based Approach to Healthcare: Where is the value?” Sulaiman, is a co-Director at the Ochsner Medical Centre, New Orleans, USA and an adjunct lecturer at the University of Ilorin College of Health Sciences.

 He noted that the successful operation on the 40-year-old patient, whose right side had been paralysed before the surgery, captured the essence of collaboration and team work in medical practice; pointing out that no member of the medical team, which included nursing, anaesthesia and medicine, was indispensable in the success of the operation.

 While lamenting that superiority claims and territorial mentality are some of the factors that prevent quality healthcare delivery, Sulaiman, a spine surgery specialist, emphasised that the role of every staff member of health care facilities, including even cleaners, should never be under-estimated.