Health News of Tuesday, 19 September 2023

Source: William Sarpong, Contributor

Teshie residents benefit from urology, fertility clinics at Family Health Hospital

The foreign doctors and FHUC staff The foreign doctors and FHUC staff

The Family Health University College, in association with its Indian collaborators: Health Plus-Inde, Marengo Asia Hospitals, and ART Fertility Clinics, have organized a week-long specialist health program at the Family Health Hospital, Teshie, Accra.

The program consisted of urology and fertility clinics for the general public and a lecture for fertility experts on the theme; 'Infertility issues and solutions with modern science.'

With over twenty-three years of experience, Dr. Rajeev Sood, Chairman of Renal Transplant Unit from Marengo Hospitals, India, led the team of Urologists for a three-day ‘Urology specialist clinic.'

Dr. Sood diagnosed and reviewed clients with enlarged prostate glands, urethral strictures, prostate cancer, cryptorchidism, penile Implants for treatment of erectile dysfunction, kidney transplants, kidney stones and male infertility issues among others.

Together with Ghanaian specialists, Dr. Sood has supervised two successful ground-breaking kidney transplant surgeries at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.

Patients who thronged the Family Health Hospital were very satisfied with the services rendered by Dr. Sood. They made appeals for the clinic to be held periodically.

Dr. Sonu Ahalawat, a well-known IVF and infertility specialist from ART Fertility Clinics in India led a two-day fertility clinic at the Family Health Hospital.

Dr. Sonu advised on Oocyte Pick-up (OPU), Embryo Transfer, Intrauterine Insemination, Follicular Aspiration, Laparoscopic Procedures and Surgeries and others.

At an open lecture with Dr. Sonu as the guest speaker, participants were educated on ‘Modern trends in improving oocyte yield in poor responders,' and ‘frozen embryi transfer protocols and evidence.'

In a keynote address delivered at the lecture by Dr. Derek Amoateng, a fertility specialist, on behalf of Prof. E. Y. Kwawukume, President of the FHUC, he entreated individuals having difficulties conceiving naturally not to be discouraged.

He outlined modern trends in Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) and gave assurance of better success rates currently.

Additionally, he implored society to take it easy on couples or individuals yet to bear children as stresses from such attitudes also hinders conception.

In an address, the Medical Coordinator for Family Health Hospital, Dr. Mrs. Rebecca Acquaah-Arhin, said the collaboration between Family Health University College, Health Plus Inde, Marengo Asia Hospitals and ART Fertility Clinics in India is the first of many to come.

The rationale for such health collaborations is for the provision of medical services and procedures that are currently unavailable in Ghana.

She bemoaned how patients had to struggle to raise resources to travel to India for procedures like kidney Transplants and Penile implants. However, she was glad to add that, patients raising money for such procedures will soon be a thing of the past due to such collaborations.

Subsequently, such collaborations will build the capacity of our Ghanaian doctors, especially in the specialties of Urology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, thereby making Ghana a medical hub in the sub-region of Africa.

Family Health Hospital’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Centre (Fertility Clinic) is an ultra-modern state-of-the-art Centre equipped with the latest technology in fertility care.

The Fertility Centre has a team of Specialists and highly trained professionals who are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of couples or individuals having conception challenges.

The team includes gynecologists, andrology specialists, embryologists and specially trained nurses.

Attached to the Centre is one of the most modern equipped laboratories, with specialized services such as frozen embryo transfer, sperm freezing, embryo freezing, semen analysis according to the latest World Health Organization standards, Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI), among others.