LifeCare Hospital performs first brain tumour surgery in Western Kenya

A nurse attends to Mr Geoffrey Agukwa at LifeCare Hospital in Bungoma where underwent brain tumor surgery.

Photo credit: Brian Ojamaa | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The delicate operation at LifeCare Hospital was performed on Friday on a 25-year-old man.
  • He had complained of a severe headaches for over two months.

A hospital in Bungoma County has become the first one to perform a successful brain tumour surgery in Western Kenya.

The delicate operation at LifeCare Hospital was performed on Friday on a 25-year-old man who had complained of a severe headaches for over two months.

According to head intensivist Dr Arun Kumar, the patient, who works in Mombasa, was referred to LifeCare Hospital where a physician advised him to go for an MRI.

"From the MRI, the patient was found to have a vascular tumour,' said Dr Kumar in an interview with the Nation.

"This kind of tumour can rapture at any time with high blood pressure and usually has high mortality."

The patient, who is a hotel worker, was fortunate and expressed his gratitude that the tumour was identified before rupturing.

Dr Kumar stated that the operation was done by a highly experienced neuro-surgeon, Dr Abdul Wahid Kasmani.

Full of life

When the Nation visited the patient at the hospital’s ICU ward, he was full of life and could manage to speak comfortably.

'It was around July when I started experiencing severe headache. I went to several hospitals at the Coast but the situation was getting worse. It was at this time that I was referred to this LifeCare where I was diagnosed with the tumour," narrated Mr Geoffrey Agukwa who hails from Nyamasaria in Kisumu County.

Dr Kevin Rombosia, the director hospital operations at LifeCare said that they are dedicated to offering the best medical services to residents of western Kenya.

"The tenets of universal health coverage in Kenya are centred on availability of accessible, affordable and high quality healthcare services for all citizens," he said.

"We will continue working hard to [provide] such highly specialised and high quality healthcare services to the people of western Kenya as we ensure affordability.”